Neon Knight Sabers
by Ammadeau
Summary: Replaces the cast of Bubblegum Crisis with characters from other anime.
1. Default Chapter Title

The Neon Knight Sabers  
(A NGE / Oh My Goddess! / Sailor Moon / Tenchi Muyo / Ranma   
One Half / Gunsmith Cats / El-Hazard / Bubblegum Crisis /   
kitchen sink Crossover)  
By Ammadeau  
Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org  
http://Ammadeau.tripod.com/fanfiction.htm  
  
***  
  
[Ayanami Rei: The leader of the Knight Sabers, whose mission is   
to stop the misuse of EVA-based technology by Genom and   
prevent a probable Fourth Impact. Founded sixteen years after the   
Third Impact, in which the Tokyo-3 Geofront was destroyed. It left   
only three survivors: Shinji Ikari, Asuka Soyu, and Rei Ayanami.   
Despite being in her early thirties, Rei looks to be around twenty,   
and catches the attention of most people with her short blue hair   
and pale skin. She wears blue tinted contacts to hide her red eyes.]  
  
Rei moved about her lingerie shop, attempting to smile at   
the customers. She was still in practice even after nearly two   
decades, since most people didn't even notice when she was   
smiling or not. No one suspected that she was the leader of the   
Knight Sabers.  
  
[Ayanami Keiichi: Saved by Rei when both of his parents were   
killed by boomers. She also adopted him, but is considered by   
him to be an older sister. The boy turned out to be a mechanical   
prodigy and has been a critical asset in building and maintaining   
the hardsuits. Special note: Due to the onset of puberty he has   
recently developed some perverted tendencies.]  
  
Rei's 'brother' Keiichi was down at Washu's garage,   
working on Ranko's motorcycle and daydreaming about his blonde   
and red-haired goddesses (I must have them both!!). When would   
they ever notice that he wasn't just a kid?  
  
[Mizuno Ami: A true wiz at computers. Provides inside   
information by working as a dispatcher for the AD Police. Also a   
fully trained medical doctor who abandoned her chosen profession   
for unknown reasons. Has a penchant for silly poses and catch   
phrases in combat. Overall, the weakest fighter of the group, but a   
superior tactician. Obvious prior combat experience, source   
unknown.]  
  
Ami was diligently working the phones at AD Police,   
occasionally glancing at the old Sailor V episode playing on the   
terminal next to her and shaking her head. Was it really ever like   
that?  
  
[Masaki Mihoshi: Obviously a foreigner, being a six foot tall,   
blue-eyed blonde. Strange lack of coordination for an aerobics   
instructor. A fierce fighter, but sometimes panics in the heat of   
battle. Claims to be a former detective, but can find no records of   
her working in any law enforcement agency in the world.]  
  
Mihoshi was trying to teach aerobics without tripping over   
her own feet and doing surprisingly well to people who knew her.   
This would last up until the moment someone tried to get her   
attention.  
  
[Tenno Ranko: Most skilled fighter of the group. However, has   
an abrasive and macho personality. Strong possibility that she was   
raised as a boy. Powerful phobia of cats and hot water, probably   
due to childhood trauma. Name assumed to be an alias since no   
real records found. Lead singer of the band Ranko and the   
Replicants.]  
  
Ranma ducked into the alley behind the Hot Legs, and with   
a quick splash of cold water, Ranko stepped into her dressing   
room. She knew it was risky going out male, but she just couldn't   
spend all of her time female. Besides, she doubted that his various   
fiancees would look for her in Mega-Tokyo.  
  
Program 1: Knight Sabers, Go!  
  
Detective Rally Vincent was relaxing in the Hot Legs,   
listening to the music of Ranko and the Replicants. The hard rock   
rhythms were making her homesick for old Chicago, when she had   
been a simple bounty hunter chasing down thugs, thieves, and   
other assorted low lives. Then her partner wound up married and   
the whole business just lost its charm for Rally. So she hopped in   
her custom Griffin and drove. Hell if she knew how she had   
wound up in Mega-Tokyo. Probably shouldn't have picked up that   
bandanna-wearing hitchhiker. Definitively shouldn't have let him   
drive while she took a nap. When the heck did they cross the   
ocean? It was a good thing that she could speak Japanese.  
While it wasn't all wine and roses, working for the AD   
Police beat doing nothing. For one, you had to be a cop to carry a   
gun in this town and Rally would've felt naked without one. There   
was the added bonus that she could shoot down the boomers   
without worrying about damages, though she never did much   
damage to them. You'd think that they would arm the AD Police   
with weapons that could actually scratch the boomers they were   
supposed to stop.  
Of course her beeper just had to go off when she was just   
getting into the music. Damn.  
Dialing up work, she saw the face of her new partner,   
Alielle. A complete perv, but a good cop, and Rally had learned   
how to deal with her going after anything female, including Rally   
herself. She wouldn't stay in the same hotel room with her ever   
again through. Her last partner had been a former prostitute so she   
really wasn't one to judge. Still, Rally had never met a lesbian that   
was that aggressive before.  
"Party time, babe," Alielle said and winked. Rally groaned   
and hung up the phone. Time to get to work.  
  
Ami quickly sent a coded message to Rei about the new   
boomer on the rampage, adding that she'd do her best to get away   
from work. Chief Goto was determined to boost up the falling rep   
of the AD Police by nailing this boomer. Ami wasn't worried.   
Even with the hardsuit she wasn't much of an asset in a fight,   
without her senshi powers that is. And those she had given up to   
save the world nine years ago. Still, it felt good to her to be on the   
side of justice once again.  
  
Ranko had just finished her gig when her watch went off,   
the secret signal that the Knight Sabers had a job to do. Cool, she'd   
get to beat something up. Day was looking better already. She   
immediately called up Rei.  
"There's a boomer on the rampage," Rei said to the rock   
singer without preamble and without blinking. Ranko, however,   
had grown used to her boss's terseness. She knew that Rei wasn't   
cold or emotionless, just very, very subtle.  
"There's something different about this one. I'll need to   
take a sample in for analysis. You'll also have to be careful, this   
new boomer could be more than you could handle."  
"What? No way! I'll kick that tin can!"  
"Your bike is still in the shop, correct?"  
"Yeah, so?" Since her driver's license was actually a   
forgery, Ranko had never taken a driver's test. Still, she was   
starting to get the hang of it. She only crashed, what, three times   
last week? Rei's little brother was always eager to fix it up again   
anyway.  
"Good, I'll have Mihoshi come by and pick you up."  
"No!!!!" In Ranko's book, Mihoshi's driving was just under   
cats in sheer terror value. Why she never got any tickets was a   
mystery. But it was too late, the phone was already dead.  
  
Mihoshi was really getting into the set when she started to   
hear a noise. It was a sort of beeping and seemed close by. Maybe   
it was part of the music? She couldn't let herself get distracted   
again in the middle of a session, so she ignored it. However, it   
really did clash with the music and started to throw her timing off.   
In Mihoshi's case, this was like a snowball that started an   
avalanche. When it was over, the TV and half the people there had   
been knocked over.  
"Mihoshi, there's a phone call for you," her fellow   
instructor told her.  
Mihoshi nodded and sprinted for the phone, only managing   
to knock over two people who were about to get back on their feet.  
Arisa and Kyoko swore to get their revenge on that   
annoying blonde cat-like girl, just as soon as they recovered.  
  
Rally parked her patrol car and watched the fight as it   
played out on the street below. A single boomer versus an entire   
squad of AD Police and the boomer was winning. While she knew   
that the AD Police weren't as well-equipped or well-trained as they   
could be, one squad should have been more than enough to take   
out a single boomer. There was also the strange thing that Alielle   
had mentioned, which she hadn't believed until she saw it herself.   
This new boomer really did look like some sort of humanoid bug.   
Weird. Still, she wondered why her partner had called them   
'Bugrom.'  
*Just what is Genom up to?*  
  
Somewhere, Katsuhiko Jinnai laughed and laughed.   
Everyone within hearing distance shivered, even the boomers.   
Only Quincy, sitting in his darkened office, smiled. By the dim   
light, it was almost impossible to see that he was wearing earplugs.  
  
One by one, the Knight Sabers filtered into their secret base   
under Washu's Garage while a catchy J-pop tune drifted in from   
somewhere outside. For some reason it was always the same song   
whenever they suited up, but none of them really noticed it.  
Ami, still in her AD Police uniform, took off her scooter   
helmet, running her fingers through her short black hair. She was   
starting to run out of sick relatives to use as excuses. Chief Goto   
did accept them all in his usual deadpanned tone, however.  
Mihoshi practically bounced in with Ranko following   
behind unsteadily, her face a little green. Ami sympathized; she   
had rode with Mihoshi once before and it made roller coasters   
seem mild by comparison. She didn't want to know how her   
blonde teammate had gotten a license in the first place.  
Rei nodded to each of them and they all started to get into   
their plug suits. Rei was Saber-Blue, in Unit-00. Ami was Saber-  
Purple, in Unit-01. Ranko was Saber-Red, in Unit-02. Mihoshi   
was Saber-Black, in Unit-03.  
When Ranko had once asked about the names and colors,   
Rei had replied, "I like them that way." Rei was never one for   
elaboration.  
It didn't take them long to find the rampaging boomer.  
  
"I am Sailor Purple!" announced Ami to the boomer,   
posing dramatically, like a figure skater at the end of her set. The   
boomer didn't seem too impressed, but it was hard to read the   
expression of a giant robotic ant.  
"That's Saber Purple," Rei corrected her, and not for the   
first time either. Rei believed that her teammate had watched far   
too much anime as a child.  
"Oh, right. I am Saber Purple and in the name of the   
Knight Sabers, I'll punish you!"  
Mihoshi struggled to come up with a catch phrase of her   
own. They just sounded so cool! Posing dramatically, she   
declared, "And I am Saber Black. In the name eating snacks and   
daytime TV, I'm going to blast you!"  
Rei and Ranko groaned in embarrassment as the other   
Knight Sabers charged after the bewildered boomer. Ranko   
believed that Mihoshi had been dropped on her head far too often   
as a child.  
"And just why did you choose them again?" Ranko asked   
Rei on a private channel.  
Mihoshi tripped on a rock as she ran up to the boomer,   
triggered her jump jets, and accidentally executing a powerful   
rolling jump-kick that knocked the boomer's head off like a kicker   
on an American football team. The boomer crashed to the ground,   
but despite now being headless, managed to get back up again.  
"That's why," Rei replied to Ranko's earlier question,   
punctuating her sentence by embedding the boomer to the wall   
with a lance that shot out of her suit's forearm.  
When the boomer finally tore itself free, Ranko shouted,   
"Kashu Tenchin Amaguriken," hitting the boomer enough times to   
completely destroy the thing's chest. This time when the boomer   
fell, it didn't get up.  
"And she complains about my speeches," Ami said to   
herself. She had hacked into the comm channels in an effort to find   
out a little more about their mysterious leader and so had heard   
Ranko's comment. "At least I don't go on about roasting   
chestnuts!"  
  
"So these are the Knight Sabers," Rally said to herself as   
she watched the fight. They certainly were impressive and better   
armed than the AD Police. Their suits had to be about twice as   
powerful as the police's AV-32s. "I wonder where you sign up to   
become one of them?"  
  
Keiichi was sitting in the monitoring room, watching over   
his big sister and the rest of the Knight Sabers. Normally, he'd be   
out there with them in one of the two trucks they often used to   
transport the hardsuits and motoroids, but this time big sister had   
decided it was a little too dangerous for him. More likely, it was   
his punishment for peeping on them while they got changed again.   
Not that the plug suits they wore under the hardsuits left much to   
the imagination, thankfully. At least she didn't threaten to make   
him Dr. Washu's guinea pig again. Shudder.  
Man he was hungry. He'd spent so much time on fixing up   
Ranko's bike that he'd forgotten to eat. He could have had Dr.   
Washu help him, but she had a habit of adding little improvements   
that usually just made Ranko mad. She still hadn't gotten over the   
whole 'ejector seat' incident. Keiichi didn't know how Ranko was   
able to throw those fireball things, but they hurt like hell.  
Big sister would probably be angry if he snuck out to get a   
bite to eat, so he reached for the phone book and decided to order   
up some take-out.  
A few minutes later he hung up the phone. Hunger must be   
making him delusional. What the heck was a 'Goddess Helpline'   
anyway? Some kind of '900' number? Rei would kill him if one of   
those showed up on their phone bill. Now Ranko, there was a   
goddess. He'd done everything he could to get her to notice him,   
but she still treated him like a kid. He was only two years younger   
than her and she was as short as he was. What was her problem?  
Needless to say, when a beautiful young goddess appeared   
out of nowhere to grant his heart's desire, he wasn't thinking too   
clearly.  
"I wish that I had a girlfriend like you."  
And then there was a burst of light.  
  
"Ranko, please collect a sample," Rei said in her flat voice.  
Ranko took one look at the oozing semi-organic mess and   
shook her head violently. "No way, get one of the others to do it.   
If you want it so badly, collect it yourself."  
Rei turned to face Saber-Black. "Mihoshi, collect a   
sample."  
"Kay," Mihoshi responded and hopped over to where the   
boomer lay. Unfortunately, she tripped once again in her metallic   
high heels, desperately windmilling her arms in a futile attempt to   
stay up. One of those arms just happened to catch Ranko in the   
stomach and sent her to land dead center in the boomer's remains.  
"Ranko, please collect a sample," Rei repeated, and after   
glancing around, added, "Ami, help Mihoshi to stand up."  
Two Knight Sabers groaned and set about their tasks.  
  
"So how was that boomer?" Keiichi asked nervously as the   
Knight Sabers filed into the Ayanamis' apartment. Luckily, they   
were all too tired to notice his very forced nonchalance or that he   
was leaning heavily on the door to his room.  
"My computer's initial readings indicate that it was a   
different type of boomer entirely," Ami told him as she made her   
way to Rei's room. "We'll know more once your sister examines   
the samples that we saved."  
"It was pretty tough," Ranko admitted, following Ami. "No   
match for me of course, but it did last longer against us than any   
previous model. Might be a good thing, you know? I get more of   
a workout this way."  
"It was funny!" Mihoshi added her half a cent and giggled,   
stopping so close to Keiichi that their noses were only inches apart.   
"It had really thin arms and these weird things on its head, like it   
was some big old bug!"  
Mihoshi put her hands on top of her head and wiggled her   
fingers in a crude imitation of antennae while puffing up her   
cheeks and opening her eyes wide. She looked like a person trying   
to do a very bad imitation of an ant.  
"Where's sis?" he asked, turning away from Mihoshi and   
her embarrassing (and somewhat frightening) playacting.  
"Oh, she's dropping off the samples in the lab," Ami told   
him. "She should be up shortly."  
"Ah, good. When she comes up, can you tell her that I need   
to talk to her? It's real important."  
Ami nodded.  
"Okay, I'll be in my room." And then he opened the door a   
crack, slid in and shut the door behind him with a slam.  
Ami shook her head. "That was weird."  
"Huh?" Mihoshi asked, turning to face Ami, her fingers   
still acting like antennae.  
Ami shook her head. *What isn't weird around this place?*  
  
"I don't see why I have to go."  
"It's your turn, Ranko," Ami reasoned with her, though she   
didn't have high hopes of reason getting though to the red-headed   
Knight Saber. "I went last time and Mihoshi went the time before   
that."  
"What about Rei?"  
"She took us out for steaks, remember?"  
"Oh, yeah. But I can't go, my bike's busted."  
Instead to replying, Ami turned towards Keiichi's room and   
shouted, "Keiichi, is Ranko's bike fixed?"  
"Yep," he shouted back, "I put it in the apartment's garage.   
The keys are by the door."  
*Damn,* Ranko thought, *no way out.* They were all   
sitting around Rei's room for the traditional dinner and debriefing.   
They usually had fast food, but sometimes Rei splurged and they   
all went to a fancy restaurant together. That night Rei would be   
too busy examining samples to go out. Besides, it was Ranko's   
turn.  
The redhead grabbed her keys and left.  
  
Mihoshi, unable to wait until dinner arrived, was off in the   
search of snacks. Rei had told her it was okay before to raid the   
refrigerator whenever she felt like, but for some reason Mihoshi   
was having an unusually hard time finding the kitchen at the   
moment. The room she actually ended up in was Keiichi's. At   
least she assumed from looking around at the schematics mixed   
with bikini posters scattered on the wall. She'd never been there   
before, though she was often in Rei's room, and occasionally slept   
over using one of the guest rooms.  
The strangest thing about the room, however, was the   
young girl in it, who was folding up scattered clothes and   
otherwise straightening up the place. She had long brown hair and   
funny markings on her face. Looking to be about the same age as   
Keiichi, Mihoshi guessed this to be a friend of his.  
"Hi there," Mihoshi said to the girl in a friendly tone. "My   
name is Mihoshi. Who are you?"  
Belldandy was only startled for a moment, then she turned   
and smiled as the blonde Knight Saber. "Pleased to meet you,   
Mihoshi-san. I am Belldandy."  
"So are you a friend of Keiichi's?"  
"Actually, I'm a goddess who came down from heaven in   
order to grant his wish," Belldandy explained, and then blushed   
suddenly. "He could have wished for anything, but instead he   
proposed that I become his girlfriend."  
"That's sweet," Mihoshi said with a big smile, not   
completely understanding what she had just been told, but getting   
the general gist of it.  
Belldandy's blush deepened.  
"So why aren't you with Keiichi now?"  
"Oh, he went to ask his sister if it would be all right if I   
stayed here. I do hope it won't be too much trouble. I was just   
tidying up while I waited."  
"No, no, no," Mihoshi told her, waggling her finger for   
emphasis. "You should spend every minute you can together   
because you never know when you'll have to be apart. I'll go get   
him!"  
"No, you don't have to..." Belldandy started to say and   
stopped when she realized that Mihoshi had already left.  
  
Rally and Alielle were lounging in front of an all-night fast-  
food joint, having a little late supper and discussing what they had   
just seen. Both had heard rumors for a while, but neither had   
watched the Knight Sabers in action before.  
"Well, I did notice something important," Alielle stated,   
chomping down on a burger with a feral appetite. Rally had no   
idea how the girl could eat like that and never gain a gram. Asking   
her, however, would give entirely the wrong impression. Rally   
didn't want Alielle to think that she was checking her out. "The   
way those suits were shaped, they all had to be women."  
"How is that important?" Rally asked, bewildered.  
Alielle wasn't even listening, off in a little world of her   
own. "I wonder what they look like without those suits on."  
While Alielle was indulging in fantasies, Rally noticed   
someone familiar step out of the place that they were parked in   
front of, a big bag of burgers under one arm.  
Ranko took no notice of the police car as she made her way   
to her bike, grumbling under her breath about why she had to be   
the one they sent out to pick up dinner.  
"You're Ranko, right?" Rally called out to her, "Of Ranko   
and the Replicants?"  
"Yeah," Ranko answered cautiously, not really wanting to   
talk to anyone at the moment, especially not a member of the AD   
Police. If her cover as a Knight Saber was blown, it'd be all over   
Japan. 'Her' fiancees would be sure to find her then.  
"I caught most of your show before I had to go on duty,"   
Rally told her. "You're really good. It's a wonder that you're not   
signed to any label."  
Ranko rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. The   
main reason that they weren't signed was she didn't want all of the   
added publicity that it would bring. Becoming a popular singer   
wasn't a good way of hiding from people. The money wasn't bad   
though.  
During their conversation, Alielle had snapped out of her   
dream world. With a cry of "red hair!" she jumped over Rally and   
dove out of the open window to latch herself onto Ranko.  
"Aaarrrgghh!!!" Ranko screamed in terror as the purple-  
haired girl glomped onto her. "Shampoo!!" Ranko jumped right   
out of Alielle's grip, leapt onto her bike, and drove away with the   
sounds of squealing tires and burning rubber.  
Rally thought the girl's reaction was understandable, all   
except shouting about hair-care products. That was a bit odd.   
Well, rock stars were supposed to be eccentric types.  
Alielle picked herself up, dusted herself off, and grinned in   
absolute delight. She would meet Ranko again, no force on Earth   
could keep her from her new love.  
  
"Ah, sis?" Keiichi, now very nervous, called down the   
stairs to where his sister's lab was located. As far as he knew, Rei   
hadn't come out of her lab since they'd gotten back from the fight.   
Keiichi might have wondered what was so odd about these new   
boomers that would fascinate her so much, but he had other things   
on his mind at the moment. Other things that he knew he wouldn't   
be able to hide in his room forever. "Ranko's back with the food   
already."  
"I'll be there in a few minutes. Make sure that Ranko   
doesn't eat any of my food this time."  
"Yeah . . . Ah, sis?"  
"Yes?"  
"There's something I've got to talk to you about privately."  
"Come down to the lab then. I'm almost done here."  
"Ah, okay."  
Rei could tell immediately that this was a little more than   
some prank that had gone sour. Keiichi was acting very nervous,   
looking ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble. Rei smiled slightly   
at her brother. He, even more than her work or her crusade, had   
filled the void in her life after the Third Impact.  
"Sit and tell me what's wrong," Rei told him.  
"What makes you think that anything is wrong?" Keiichi   
countered, laughing nervously.  
Rei raised an eyebrow. This had to be bad.  
Just then Mihoshi burst into the room, grabbed Keiichi, and   
said, "Come on, you shouldn't leave your girlfriend waiting like   
that."  
"Girlfriend?" asked Rei. Her tone was still level, but her   
left eyebrow twitched slightly.  
"I mean, if she's going to be living here, you really should   
show her around."  
"Living here?" Eyebrow twitching even more, though her   
tone remained the same.  
"Yeah," Mihoshi said, finally addressing Rei. "I found her   
waiting in his room, getting ready to move in. Belldandy said that   
when Keiichi proposed to her it was like a wish come true, or   
something like that."  
"Proposed?" Rei's voice went up an octave and she began   
to advance towards Keiichi, who was frantically trying to loosen   
Mihoshi's iron grip. He had a feeling that this was going to be   
worse when Rei had caught him with one of her panties.  
"Please explain what Mihoshi meant by 'proposed',   
Keiichi." Someone else might not have been able to tell, but   
Keiichi noticed a slight edge to his sister's voice. He also saw that   
Rei had taken out her contacts. Red eyes staring unblinking can be   
very intimidating. He swallowed the last remnants of his courage   
and sat down. "Actually, it's a pretty funny story . . ."  
  
"Ano?" Belldandy asked as she peered into Rei's room.   
That nice blonde lady had gone looking for Keiichi, but she hadn't   
come back yet. It shouldn't have taken her that long to find him,   
even in this large apartment. She couldn't wait to meet Keiichi's   
sister, though she hoped that she wouldn't be seeing her own sisters   
for a little while at least. Belldandy loved her siblings, but they   
had a tendency to cause trouble wherever they went.  
Ami watched in surprise as Ranko jumped in the air and   
somehow clung to the ceiling, despite there being nothing to cling   
to. All because of a strange woman who now stood in the doorway   
had spoken.  
"Look, Kasumi, it's not what you think, really," Ranko   
began to babble. "I just needed some time away, that's all. I mean,   
everything was so crazy that I just had to get some time for myself.   
So, it's not what it looks like. Not even close."  
"Do you have any idea what she's talking about?" Ami   
asked the woman, who looked to be about sixteen and had odd   
marks on her face. She sort of reminded Ami of Usagi the times   
she'd become Serenity. It was a feeling that went deeper than   
general appearance though.  
The woman shook her head and stared up at the ceiling   
where Ranko was still busy babbling and defying gravity.  
"Are you this Kasumi that she's keeps mentioning?" Ami   
asked.  
The woman shook her head again. "No, my name is   
Belldandy. I've never seen him before."  
"Don't you mean her?"  
Belldandy looked a bit embarrassed. "Oh yes, I'm sorry, I   
did mean her. I guess its hard for me to tell the gender of someone   
who's clinging to the ceiling."  
"Forgive me for being rude," Ami told her, starting to   
recover from Ranko's spectacle. "I've never seen you before. How   
did you get in here?"  
"Oh, Keiichi brought me here. He called me on the   
telephone and I came right over. You see, I'm his girlfriend."  
Ami blink-blinked in surprise. *Keiichi was hiding a secret   
girlfriend in his room? Dirty magazines? Sure. Used underwear?   
Maybe. But a whole woman?* It was the last thing Ami had   
expected from a ecchi, but terminally shy, kid like Keiichi.  
It was at that moment that Ranko's grip finally gave out and   
she fell to the floor with a thump. Belldandy watched in surprise   
as Ranko stood and dusted herself off as if nothing had happened.   
The goddess hadn't known that there were mortals who could so   
easily brush off such a fall.  
Ranko looked over the new girl and said, "Hey, you're not   
Kasumi."  
"No, my name is Belldandy. Pleased to meet you Ranko-  
san," the young woman said to her, bowing.  
"Ah, yeah, nice to meet you too." Ranko stage-whispered   
to Ami, "Who is she?"  
"She's Keiichi's girlfriend," Ami whispered back with a   
smile.  
Ranko was even more surprised than Ami.  
  
Belldandy sat next to Keiichi, offering support, as he   
recounted their story for the rest of the Knight Sabers. To his   
surprise, they really didn't have a hard time accepting it.  
Ranko snorted. "Stranger things happen to me all the   
time."  
Ami nodded in agreement. She'd been dead before,   
multiple times. How could anything top that?  
"It's just sooo romantic!" Mihoshi enthused, earning a blush   
from the new couple.  
Rei really didn't know what to think about this. She was   
happy for her brother for having a girlfriend, even if it was in an   
unusual manner, but thought he really was too young to be living   
with her. Shinji and Asuka had started living together at a young   
age and ended up having to get married sooner then they had   
planned. Rei didn't even know if that particular concern would   
apply to a goddess, but she still didn't think it was right. There was   
no hope for it however, Belldandy simply didn't have anywhere   
else to stay. Ranko lived in an old trailer, Ami's apartment was   
barely large enough for her, and Mihoshi, well, Rei wouldn't wish   
living with Mihoshi on anyone.  
Maybe looking over the boomer samples again would help   
her think.  
"So you're a goddess," Ranko said to Belldandy.  
The goddess in question simply nodded.  
"And you have a bunch of powers?"  
"I do, but after granting a wish, my powers are extremely   
limited in the mortal world."  
"Could you cure a curse?"  
Belldandy shook her head. "Curing your curse would take   
much more power than I have available. I'm sorry."  
Ranko hung her head.  
"Wow Ranko, you have a curse?" Mihoshi asked, sounding   
very interested. "That's so neat!"  
Ranko was suddenly defensive, doing the 'scratching the   
back of the head' thing. "It's nothing really, hehehe."  
"What is it? Tell me! Tell me!"  
"No!" Ranko shouted and bolted from the room, with   
Mihoshi in hot pursuit.  
When Ami noticed that Belldandy was looking with   
concern at the pair running all over the apartment, she told her,   
"Don't worry about it. Things like that happen all the time around   
here. You'll get used to it."  
Belldandy didn't know to be reassured or even more   
worried. 


	2. Default Chapter Title

The Neon Knight Sabers  
(A NGE / Oh My Goddess! / Sailor Moon / Tenchi Muyo / Ranma   
One Half / Gunsmith Cats / El-Hazard / Bubblegum Crisis /   
kitchen sink Crossover)  
By Ammadeau  
Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org  
http://Ammadeau.tripod.com/fanfiction.htm  
  
***  
  
The man took puff of his cigar as his assistant played back   
the footage they had gotten from the AD Police for about the sixth   
time.  
"Advanced design," the man remarked, gesturing to the   
hardsuits with his cigar.  
The assistant nodded. "Very advanced. Better than our   
newest prototypes."  
The man took another puff of his cigar. "I would very   
much like to hire them to handle our recent... difficulty."  
The assistant nodded. "I'll make the arrangements   
immediately."  
  
Program 2: A Job Offer  
  
Keiichi Ayanami woke up feeling better than he had in   
some time. He knew that it was all due to a certain person who   
was now living with them, the girlfriend that he had wished for. It   
suddenly occurred to him that he could have wished for either   
Ranko or Mihoshi, but somehow he knew that Belldandy was the   
better choice. She was sweet, kind, beautiful, and well . . . perfect,   
just like a goddess should be. Which was no surprise since that   
was exactly what she was.  
Despite how he felt, he grumbled a little as he started to get   
dressed. Having a new girlfriend didn't change the fact that   
someone had to make breakfast, and unfortunately that someone   
was him. Keiichi loved and respected his big sister; she was a   
brilliant scientist with a true gift for theoretical mechanics. But no   
matter how smart she was, Rei wasn't that creative when it came to   
the kitchen.  
He remembered the meals she had served him when he was   
younger. For breakfast, they would have miso soup and rice,   
always prepared in the exact same manner every time. The miso   
nearly always the same no matter how many times Rei had made it,   
which was always so bland that is was almost tasteless. His sister   
never used spices or anything like that. Apparently cooking, in her   
opinion, was for sustenance and not enjoyment. Even stranger was   
that occasionally her meals would have the faint taste of blood.   
Keiichi knew he wasn't a great cook, but at least he managed to   
give his meals some flavor.  
Upon leaving his room, Keiichi was surprised to be greeted   
by a delicious aroma wafting in from the kitchen, which was   
normally home to easy-made and mass-produced food. He heard a   
sweet voice singing what sounded like "Fish heads, fish heads,   
rolly polly fish heads."   
*What the..?* He shook his head. *I must be hearing   
things.*  
He was stunned to find Belldandy in the kitchen mixing   
something in a bowl while what appeared to be pancakes sizzled   
on the stove. *Where did she get the apron?* he wondered for a   
moment, then shook his head. It was sometimes easy for him to   
forget that this girl who looked like a normal teenager was in   
actuality a goddess.  
"Oh, good morning, Keiichi-san," she said to him and   
smiled. It was one of those smiles that weakened his knees and   
froze up his mind.  
"G .G..Good morning," Keiichi eventually managed to   
stutter out.  
Belldandy noticed Keiichi glancing around the kitchen, so   
she explained. "While I was doing a little tidying up around here, I   
found this cookbook and wanted to make breakfast. You see, this   
is my first time on Midgard so I've never cooked before and   
wondered what it was like."  
The young goddess looked with some concern at the   
kitchen, particularly the small grouping of kitchen supplies which   
she saw as a mess. "I hope that's all right. Do you think your sister   
will mind?"  
She smiled at him again. "No, it's okay, really," he   
managed to say, quickly finding a chair and sitting down before his   
legs gave out completely. *How can I say no to a goddess?*  
  
"Here you go," Belldandy told him, presenting him with a   
plate. "Traditional Norse breakfast porridge and some American   
pancakes that I found a recipe for. I hope it's good."  
She gave him a little smile that melted him faster than hot   
butter. *Now was not the time to think about stuff like that,* he   
told himself firmly. *Concentrate on the food.*  
Keiichi took a deep breath. The pancakes looked strange   
with the small black bits in it, so he decided to try the porridge   
first. It smelled good enough to make his mouth water, but as he   
looked at it, he noticed something a little odd. There were some   
greyish lumps in the porridge. He moved some of the things   
around with his spoon and was startled when he found his   
breakfast looking back at him.  
"Ack!" he exclaimed and jumped three feet into the air.   
Seeing Belldandy's surprised expression, he told himself to calm   
down. He was being silly, he couldn't have seen what he thought   
he saw. He must still be half-asleep. Cautiously, Keiichi peered   
back into the bowl and flinched as he saw the eye again, looking   
right at him. He blinked, but the other eye didn't.  
Keiichi looked up at Belldandy, who quickly said, "What?   
Did I do something wrong?" The note of worry in her voice nearly   
drove Keiichi to tears.  
*Keiichi,* he told himself. *You got take this like a man.   
Belldandy was all sweet and nice, right? She wouldn't try to feed   
you something dangerous, would she?*  
*This is her first time cooking,* another part of him argued.   
*Our first attempt at cooking wasn't edible.*  
*Yes, but she's a goddess, and besides how can anything   
that smells that good taste bad? Just got to avoid the eye, that's   
all.*  
And so Keiichi took up his first tentative spoonful, slowly   
put it in his mouth, and with the utmost caution, swallowed. In   
spite of Keiichi never having eaten porridge at all, much less   
porridge with an eye in it, he was surprised at how good it tasted.   
There was an unexpected fishy flavor to it, but he was used to   
having fish for breakfast anyway.  
"Is it good?" Belldandy asked nervously.  
Keiichi nodded his head vigorously, and not just to reassure   
her. Once he got used to it, the porridge was about the best   
breakfast he had had in years.  
"Really?"  
"Yes, but I have a question. When you said traditional   
Norse porridge, what did you mean exactly?"  
"That's right, you wouldn't know. Well, it's like normal   
porridge only it has fish heads in it."  
"There are fish heads in this? I can't eat fish heads!"  
"Really? They're the best part. They're really full of   
protein and other minerals that are good for you."  
With Belldandy smiling at him, Keiichi found it impossible   
to get angry at her for trying to feed him fish heads. That didn't   
mean that he was going to eat them though.  
"Belldandy, I just can't eat anything with eyes, okay? The   
rest of the porridge is delicious though, so maybe next time could   
you make it without the fish heads?"  
Belldandy nodded her head in understanding.  
Keiichi then decided it was time to try the pancake. It only   
took him a few bites to realize that the tiny black bits were actually   
chopped olives.  
"Belldandy, why did you put olives in the pancake?"   
Keiichi asked in the most reasonable tone of voice. Fish heads in   
porridge he could understand, sort of. But olives in pancakes?  
"Well, the recipe called for adding blueberries, but I   
couldn't find any. I thought that cherries might be close enough,   
but you didn't have any of those either. You did have olives   
though. They're like cherries, aren't they?"  
"Not really, Belldandy," Keiichi told her. "You should   
check the recipe over first to make sure you have all the ingredients   
and try to avoid making substitutions. It still turned out all right   
though." As long as he avoided the bits of olives, that is.  
Belldandy nodded and smiled. "I'll remember that for next   
time," she said as she picked up the cook book. "I wonder what I   
should make for lunch?"  
*Next time?* Keiichi wondered, could this mean that he   
wouldn't have to endure the drudgery of cooking anymore? He   
was free! But wait, that meant that Belldandy would have to bear   
it. He couldn't let her suffer, not when it was he who was basically   
forcing her to stay away from home and live among mortals. She   
did seem happy though.  
"You don't have to do all the cooking and cleaning around   
here, Belldandy. You're a goddess, you shouldn't have to do any   
work."  
"Keiichi, it really isn't work for me."  
"It isn't?" Since when are cooking and cleaning not work?  
"No, actually it's a lot of fun! Where I come from is always   
so neat and tidy and you never have to cook. I've only heard about   
these things before, but I've found that I really enjoy doing them.   
Is it all right that I cook and clean for you and your sister, Keiichi?"  
Keiichi scratched the back of his head. "Well, I don't have   
a problem with it, and I'm sure it will be okay with sis."  
"Great!" Belldandy exclaimed as she impulsively threw her   
arms around him and held Keiichi close. Keiichi might not have   
been in heaven, but he was in the closest thing to it.  
  
Rei awoke and stared at her alarm in annoyance, almost as   
if she was using her glare to will the thing to cease its high-pitched   
beeping. Then she shook her head and wondered why she had   
bothered to get angry at a machine. Then she remembered what a   
rough night she had had. First fighting off that advanced boomer,   
then coming home to find her brother suddenly had a live-in   
girlfriend, and but what had bothered her most was what she had   
found out after spending all night pouring over the fragments of the   
boomer. It had become clear to her that the boomers were no   
longer just based on EVAs. Something else had been added to   
come up with an even more advanced design, but she couldn't   
identify it yet. When she did, it might be possible to use it to   
upgrade their own hardsuits. The insect motif was really strange   
though. As she got dressed, Rei continued to review the   
information she had gathered but it all lead to the same question.  
*What is Genom up to?*  
  
Keiichi knocked at the door to his big sister's room.   
Normally, he would just let her sleep in and open the shop himself,   
but he knew that she would want to hear about the job offer in the   
newspaper as soon as possible. Besides, the breakfast Belldandy   
had made was getting cold. It was simply too good to let that   
happen. Well, except for the pancakes that is. He wondered how   
his sister felt about olives.  
  
"A job offer?" Rei asked her brother as she sipped at her   
morning coffee; black, extra strong. The way she liked her power   
armor. Blue was her favorite color, but there was just something   
about a metal chassis, black and gleaming, running through the   
night, that was very engaging for her. It was a pity she couldn't   
make them all black, but then she'd never be able to tell them apart.   
And they couldn't all be called Saber-Black. It'd be silly. If there   
was one thing that Rei was not, it was silly.  
She had just finished the breakfast Belldandy had made,   
which she had eaten without a word. When Keiichi had asked if   
Belldandy could do the cooking and cleaning from now on, Rei   
had only nodded once, but then that was his big sister.  
"Look, it's right here in the paper."  
Rei read it over. It was a little odd to read the USSD asking   
for a consultation with the Knight Sabers in the want adds. There   
was no mention of what the job was, but it was from the USSD and   
the pay was over 20 million. They wouldn't try to contact   
vigilantes unless they were desperate. It was likely to be   
something important and dangerous. Still, it was worth looking   
into. Maybe it could provide some insight into what Genom was   
up to lately.  
  
"And this is where I work," Keiichi told Belldandy very   
nervously. Rei had suggested that he get his new girlfriend to help   
him with the store while she looked into the job offer. He didn't   
think it was such a good idea, but Belldandy had been very eager   
when she had heard about it.  
The young goddess looked around. "Oh my, isn't this a   
store that sells women's underclothes?"  
"Um, yeah, but it was the only job I could get because my   
sister owns the place. I do some part-time work over at Washu's   
Garage, but that's not a regular thing."  
He did not say that this was because sometimes the interior   
of the garage wasn't even there or that it's owner occasionally gave   
him the willies. To Washu, there didn't seem to be much   
difference between an assistant and a test subject.  
Belldandy wasn't really listening as she was examining the   
store's wares, fluttering from shelf to shelf like an over-excited   
butterfly.  
"Oh, how perfectly darling!" she said as she pulled out a   
red, semi-transparent teddy and held it up to herself. It was about   
two sizes too small. "What do you thing of this Keiichi?"  
Keiichi was too busy frantically holding back a sudden   
nosebleed to respond.  
  
"It's kind of strange that my sister owns this place when she   
wears such plain underwear herself," Keiichi commented as he and   
Belldandy got ready to open the store. Apparently working in a   
lingerie shop was another fun thing that goddesses normally didn't   
get the chance to do. He was starting to get the feeling that   
Belldandy could find anything fun. For Keiichi, it was just another   
thing he liked about her.  
"How do you know that?" Belldandy asked innocently.  
Keiichi hid a sudden blush and managed to say, "Well, I do   
her laundry along with my own."  
"Laundry, that's another thing I have to try."  
"You don't have to clean your clothes either?"  
"Our bodies and our clothes are regenerated moment to   
moment, so there is no need to bathe or do laundry. I must admit   
though that I really enjoyed taking a bath this morning even if I   
didn't need to. We usually only bother with clothes when we are   
down here on Midgard anyway. When in Asgard, we sometimes   
just do without them."  
"No clothes?" Keiichi said slowly, his eyes very wide.  
Belldandy nodded, smiling.  
Keiichi practically flew into the bathroom. He didn't think   
his sister would have been happy to have bloodstains from his   
nosebleed all over her store's floor, nor did he want to explain his   
sudden eruption to Belldandy.  
  
When he came back from the bathroom, Belldandy asked   
with concern, "What was that about? Are you all right Keiichi?"   
She was worried; this was the second time that her boyfriend had   
acted sick and she didn't know anything about mortal diseases or   
how to treat them.  
"Yeah, I'm fine," he managed to say, making sure to avoid   
thinking about what they had been talking about earlier. It wasn't   
easy to do being surrounded by lingerie. "I just had to, you know,   
use the bathroom real quick."  
"Use the bathroom?" Belldandy said thoughtfully, "I   
wonder what it's like to --"  
"No!" Keiichi suddenly shouted.  
"Keiichi, what's wrong?" Belldandy responded, her voice   
filled with concern.  
*'What's wrong?' she says.* "Nothing, just let's talk about   
something else."  
  
Ami was busy toweling off her hair when the phone rang.   
On the days when she didn't have to work until late, she liked   
lounging in bed for a while. Pity she had no one to share it with.  
"Ami?"  
"Oh Rei, it's you. I just got out of the shower."  
"Do you have to go to work soon?"  
"No, I'm on second shift today."  
"Good, I need you to accompany me to the USSD. They   
have a job offer for the Knight Sabers."  
"A job offer?" Ami asked. They hadn't gotten one of those   
in a while. It would be nice to have some extra spending money;   
but then, if Ami was really worried about money then she would   
have stayed a doctor.  
  
"Did we really have to take the bus?" Saber-Purple (Ami)   
asked Rei, using the Knight Saber's private communication   
channel, and feeling mildly embarrassed by all the people staring at   
her. Only her old sailor fuku could make her feel more self-  
conscious. She was thankful that her hardsuit hid her true identity   
even better than the sailor uniform had.  
"It's too far to walk and its not possible to operate one of   
the trucks in a hardsuit. The motoroids could be mistaken as a   
threat. This is the best possible solution," Saber-Blue (Rei)   
replied.  
*Rei reminds me way too much of Setsuna sometimes,*   
Ami thought. *And not always in a good way. But then again,   
Ranko reminds me of Haruka. And Mihoshi is so like Usagi   
sometimes that it's scary.*  
"Don't you feel, well, embarrassed?"  
"No, why should I?"  
"They're all looking at us!" Ami practically shouted,   
gesturing to the other people on the bus. She happened to use her   
gun-mounted hand, which made everyone look away for a while.  
"Why should I feel embarrassed by that?" Rei asked in   
genuine confusion.  
Ami gave up and endured in silence, wondering for the nth   
time why she ever got involved with this. Life as a doctor had   
been so incredibly boring that she just couldn't stand it any more.   
But life as a Knight Saber was sometimes a little too weird, even   
for a former crusader for love and justice.  
  
"What are you doing here?" asked the USSD security guard   
in a panic-stricken voice as he waved his gun around and   
repeatedly stomped on the silent alarm. How could he hope to stop   
two people in power armor with his puny handgun?  
"Your superiors requested our presence," Rei answered him   
calmly. "We are the Knight Sabers."  
The phone rang. The guard picked it up, gun still trained   
on the one who had spoken. He listened for a while, his eyes   
getting progressively wider, until finally he hung up the phone and   
told the Knight Sabers, "You can go in now."  
"Thank you," Ami said to him. Rei simply walked on.  
  
"Do you always dress like that?" the general's assistant   
asked when the Knight Sabers showed up in their hardsuits. It was   
not what he had been expecting, at least, though he did notice that   
the general didn't seem as surprised.  
"No," Rei told him. "That would be inconvenient."  
"That's all right then. No doubt you want to keep your   
identities confidential," the general said to them. "Still, it does   
reduce our assurances that you will complete this job I want to give   
you."  
"If you wish assurances, hire someone else."  
The general was clearly startled by Rei's flat tone of voice,   
but recovered and replied, "No, that's all right. Now here's what   
we want you to do. One of our former employees hacked into a   
special database and made off with some valuable information . . ."  
"Rei," Ami said to her leader on a private channel, "My   
computer indicates that the camera in the corner of the room is   
scanning us. It could be trying to figure out our suits or uncover   
our identities."  
Rei raised up her hand and embedded the camera with a   
lance, destroying it and interrupting the general's speech. Then she   
started to make her way to the door. She knew that no camera   
could see through their suits, but figuring out how the hardsuit   
worked would be dangerous to everyone. It was why the Knight   
Sabers had been formed in the first place. Ami only hesitated for a   
moment before following Rei.  
"Wait!" the general shouted, standing up. "I sincerely   
apologize. It was an unfortunate mistake, but we still want to hire   
you for this job."  
Rei turned around and told him, "Speak quickly."  
  
"So these are pictures of the man and little girl that we'll be   
looking for," Rei informed all of them as she passed the photos out.   
It was an odd job coming from the USSD, but they were willing to   
pay a lot for it. Maintaining the Knight Sabers' hardsuits didn't   
come cheap.   
Besides, Ranko had suggested, while thwarting Genom was   
a good deed and fun, it was nice to get paid once in a while.  
They were all sitting around Rei's large but rather sparsely   
decorated (meaning almost not at all) bedroom. In fact, the only   
picture was a drawing Keiichi had done of his big sister and him   
when he was still in grade school. It was framed over Rei's bed   
and made Keiichi embarrassed every time he looked at it. Rei   
refused to take it down any time he asked, however.  
Ranko was lounging in a chair, just like a boy would.   
Mihoshi had taken up residence on the end of Rei's bed. Ami and   
Rei had taken seats opposite one another, unconsciously adopting   
the same posture.  
Keiichi was out shopping for the ingredients to dinner, but   
surprisingly Belldandy had elected to stay and serve them some tea   
she had made. There was a faint grape flavor to it, but it was   
otherwise okay. She had also mistakenly served it with salt instead   
of sugar, but then anyone could have done that.  
They had all been confused when, after taking a sip of the   
tea, Ranko asked Belldandy if she knew someone by the name of   
Akane Tendo.  
After serving them tea, however, Belldandy had elected to   
wait in Keiichi's room for him. This was in spite of the fact that   
Rei had given her her own room.  
"Wai, kawaii!!" Mihoshi shouted with glee on seeing a   
picture of the little blonde girl they would be looking for, who,   
strangely enough, looked much like a chibi version of herself. The   
other Knight Sabers hoped that her personality wouldn't be a match   
as well. One Mihoshi was bad enough, a kid version would be   
even worse.  
"Now I can't stress enough the importance of calling in   
frequently," Rei told them. "Especially you, Mihoshi."  
"Hai," replied the former detective, nodding with her   
'serious' expression.  
"If you want us to call in frequently," Ranko told Rei, "Why   
not just get us all cellular phones?"  
"I did." Rei then took out a box that was filled with   
smashed, mangled, scorched, and partially melted electronic   
components. There were also bits of something white mixed in   
with them. "This is what is left of them."  
"Mihoshi?" Ranko said to Rei.  
Rei nodded while the others groaned. "It was perhaps my   
fault. Mihoshi had stopped by because she had left her work   
clothes here the previous night. I sent her upstairs to retrieve the   
cell phones that Keiichi had bought. I thought now would be a   
good time to show her how to use one.  
"Meanwhile, Belldandy was in the kitchen making lunch.   
She had decided to try and figure out how to use the blender,   
thinking that it could be used to make something called skyr. I'm   
not sure how it happened, but it seems that Mihoshi tripped over   
the power cord to the blender, knocking it over while it was still   
going and somehow dumping the phones into it."  
"Wait," Ami said. "I really don't think that a blender would   
cause this much damage, unless they were really cheap phones. "  
Rei nodded. "It seems that while the phones were only   
mostly scratched up, they also no longer worked. Belldandy,   
feeling somewhat responsible for the accident, tried to use her   
magic to repair them. Apparently, her powers don't work well on   
electronics."  
And then Rei took out a pad and wrote something down.  
"What are you writing?" Ami asked her.  
"I'm making a note to myself to look for a new blender   
while I'm out. The old one was caught in the explosion when   
Belldandy tried to fix the phones."  
Ranko and Ami face-faulted.  
"Now what are you writing?" Ranko asked Mihoshi when   
she had whipped out a similar pad.  
"So, we're going out looking for a girl, a guy, and a blender,   
right?" Mihoshi asked, finally looking up from what she was   
writing.  
Rei joined Ami and Ranko in face-faulting.  
"Oh, did I forget something?" Mihoshi asked innocently.  
  
"Excuse me, have you seen either of these people?" Rei   
asked a passerby near where the two had last been seen, showing   
him the photos.  
"And what if I have?"  
"I would like to know where they are."  
"Who wants to know?"  
"I do. I just said that."  
The man found something very unnerving the way Rei   
could just stare at him without blinking. There was also the   
obvious fact that his sarcasm was having no effect at all.  
"No, I haven't seen them," he said quickly and practically   
ran away from her.  
Rei only smiled slightly as she watched him go.  
  
Ami quickly scanned through the AD Police and regular   
police reports for descriptions matching either of the people that   
the USSD was looking for. It might be a long shot, but it was   
about effective as asking people on the street.   
A lot easier on the legs as well. She wasn't as young as she   
used to be and no longer had her senshi powers to boost her   
endurance. While she was in pretty good shape, she had passed the   
AD Police physical with flying colors, the other Sabers seemed to   
be tireless. It was sometimes hard for Ami to keep up with them.  
  
"So your old man took your kid and ran off, eh?"  
The guy learned the hard way that he shouldn't make jokes   
like that to Ranko, at least he did a few hours later when he   
regained consciousness. He also doubted that he would ever walk   
the same way again.  
  
Mihoshi trotted into the pay phone, closing the door behind   
her. She happened to miss the fact that she had been followed for   
the last ten minutes by three men, one who was large enough that   
phone booths would be inaccessible to him, along with most   
doorways. They stood and watched her from a block away.  
Mihoshi tried to swipe her card in the slot, but missed and   
dropped it on the floor. And so when the gun of the very large man   
shot away the top half of the phone booth, it missed his intended   
target. Mihoshi was too busy bent over looking for her card to   
notice.  
"What the hell are you trying to do?" one of the thugs   
demanded at him, "The boss said to bring her in alive!"  
The large man started to make chittering noises that   
sounded oddly like a cricket. Strangely enough, the other two   
thugs didn't act like he had suddenly gone crazy.  
"Enough excuses. I can't understand what the heck you're   
saying anyway. You're the one that will have to explain to the boss   
why we're bringing back a corpse."  
Meanwhile, Mihoshi had found out that the reason she   
couldn't see her card was the fact that she was standing on it. Card   
now firmly in her hand and set with a new determination, Mihoshi   
was prepared to swipe it through this time. Only this time there as   
no place to swipe because the phone was missing. In fact, most of   
the booth lay in pieces at her feet.  
*That's odd,* she thought. *When did this happen? Oh   
well, just have to find another phone booth.* She had an important   
call to make after all. Rei would be angry with her if she didn't call   
in like she was supposed to.  
The three thugs were stunned when the person in the phone   
booth stood up, apparently unharmed. "Now this time," the head   
thug explained once he had recovered, "can we please try to get her   
without killing her?"  
The thug did not expect is his victim to walk right up to   
him, smile, and say, "Excuse me, do you know where I can find   
another phone? I don't what happened to that one back there. I   
have to make an important call."  
Not entirely sure how to react to this, the thug pointed to   
another phone booth down the street.  
"Thanks," Mihoshi said to him and skipped over to the   
phone.  
The large thug, angry from being scolded and confused,   
tried to knock her out with a punch that most concrete wouldn't   
have been able to withstand.  
Just as she was reaching the phone, Mishoshi saw a ten yen   
piece and bent to pick it up. She felt a whoosh of air from   
somewhere above her, followed by a loud crash. When she stood   
up, that phone booth had also been wrecked, and one of the men   
who had helped her was sitting in the middle of it, covered in   
broken glass. The phone itself was clearly dead, smashed into   
several pieces. Mihoshi wondered why she had had such bad luck   
with phones all of the sudden.  
Before the lead thug could do anything, she turned to him   
and said, "Excuse me again, you wouldn't happen to have a phone,   
would you? This one doesn't seem to be in order either."  
The thug demonstrated the power of original thinking.   
"Yes, but it's a car phone. You'll have to get in my car to use it."  
"Kay."  
The other thugs watched in astonishment as he led the   
person they were supposed to kidnap into their car. She had to be   
the most eager kidnappee they had ever seen.  
  
Rei, Ranko, and Ami all sat around Rei's apartment to share   
what they had found out, which was basically nothing. They had   
managed to narrow the search area from the information that the   
USSD had given them, along with some help from Ami's computer   
search. A few people had seen those they were looking for, but the   
leads had been too cold to follow up.   
Ami had speculated as to why the USSD were willing to   
pay so much for finding a former employee and what was guessed   
to be his daughter. Why were they looking for the girl at all?   
Ranko was of the opinion that the guy had stolen some top-secret   
plans or something, but that just didn't sound right to Ami. There   
was more to this than they were being told. Rei had said nothing.  
Keiichi sat monitoring all police frequencies, though he   
was paying more attention to Belldandy serving dinner.   
Unfortunately, Ranko happened to be between them and the young   
goddess assumed her new boyfriend was watching that redhead.  
Belldandy wasn't fond of Ranko; she was brash, rude,   
unfeminine, and worst of all Keiichi had admitted to having a huge   
crush on her. Belldandy could not reveal that Ranko was in   
actuality a boy with a gender-altering curse even by accident, no   
matter how much she may want to. It would cause too much hurt   
to let that be known, and not just to Ranko. She did not know the   
redhead's history, but seeing as she spent so much of her time as a   
girl, Belldandy had concluded that Ranko was seeing this as her   
true gender, despite how she had been born.  
For a goddess, Belldandy thought herself rather plain. How   
could she hope to compete with an overdeveloped redhead with   
absolutely no sense of shame? It didn't even matter that Ranko had   
shown no interest in Keiichi. In fact, this playing hard to get might   
make Rei's brother even more interested in her. The goddess was   
starting to consider contacting her older sister Urd for help. No,   
things weren't that desperate yet.  
"So, does anyone know what happened to Mihoshi?" Ranko   
finally asked the question they had all been wondering, an almost   
undetectable trace of concern in her voice. According to Keiichi,   
the blonde in question had called in a few times, and then her calls   
just stopped. It was already well past the time when they were   
supposed to meet back at the apartment. Mihoshi, despite her other   
faults, was usually punctual.  
"I told her to call in regularly," Rei stated with a touch of   
irritation.  
"Maybe she's following a lead and can't call in right now?"   
Ami said, sticking up for her teammate. Mihoshi might be a ditz   
and trouble magnet, but she was also a friendly and good-natured   
person. The former senshi was used to sticking up for people like   
that.  
"Come on now, this is Mihoshi we're talking about," Ranko   
stated. "She wouldn't know a lead if it bit her in the --"  
"It is possible," Rei said, cutting Ranko off. "We should   
give her the benefit of the doubt."  
  
"We're going to take you for a little ride," the thug told   
Mihoshi as she got in the car.  
"Okay, but can I use your phone first? There's a really   
important call I have to make."  
The thugs looked at each incredulously. "Do you realize   
that we're kidnapping you?"  
"You are?"  
The thugs nodded.  
"Does this mean I can't use your phone?"  
The thugs nodded again.  
"Kidnapping a Galaxy Police officer is a federal offense!   
Wait just a sec and I'll read you your rights."  
Mihoshi reached in her jacket to pull out her storage cube.   
The one thug who hadn't spoken up to point, completely   
misinterpreted this gesture and shouted, "She's got a gun!"  
He was considerably nervous since he was sitting only   
inches from her and decided to pull out his own firearm.   
Mihoshi had finally located her control cube and was   
currently trying to find her info pen by the process of elimination.   
"That's not it. This isn't it either. What is this doing here?" The   
item in question was a pool ball with the number eight neatly   
printed on it. She tossed it away.  
The thug next to her had become very nervous when the   
woman had started pulling strange objects out of nowhere and   
tossing them all around the back seat of the car. This was causing   
him to unconsciously tighten his grip on the gun, finger inching   
closer to the trigger. He was so caught up in Mihoshi's display that   
he didn't see the eight-ball until it hit him square in the face.  
The gun went off, hitting the driver in the back of the head.   
Since the driver was a boomer little damage had been done.   
However, the force of the impact drove the boomer's head through   
the steering column and drove his feet through the car, which was   
now out of control.  
*That's it,* the thug thought when he regained   
consciousness, *that little bitch is going to die!* He took careful   
aim, but the car swerved suddenly and he blew off the door handle   
instead, causing the door to open. Mihoshi, who had been   
frantically looking for her blaster once the shooting had started,   
tumbled out the door to land on a old mattress.  
The two thugs and boomer weren't so lucky, as the car   
finally ended its erratic path by crashing into a wall.  
Mihoshi looked back mournfully as the car went up in a big   
fireball. It would have been nice to arrest someone. She hadn't   
done that for a while. She wanted to join the AD Police, but Ami   
was very against it for some reason, and Rei had agreed with her.  
Mihoshi yelped in fear as a massive, insect form suddenly   
pulled itself from the wreckage of the still burning car. It was just   
like that American movie she had watched on TV last week,   
Terminator. That had been a scary movie. The big robot just kept   
coming and coming. Mihoshi thought about trying to find her   
blaster, took another look at the boomer that was even closer now,   
and decided to make a run for it instead.  
A man was getting back on his bike after just making the   
call. Mishoshi was too panicked to see anything but the bike.   
Knocking the man off, she hopped on and drove away as fast as   
she could.  
The bug-boomer sprouted wings and flew after her.  
  
"Dispatch, this is officer Rally Vincent. I've just sighted a   
boomer pursuing a woman a bike who keeps shouting 'help me,   
help me, help me.'"  
Everyone there thought 'Mihoshi?' Rei answered for them   
all, saying, "It could be anyone."  
"The blonde woman must be really panicked," Rally   
continued. "She's swerving all over the road, having caused about   
a dozen accidents already. I can't believe that she can do so much   
damage without crashing herself."  
Everyone back at Saber HQ sweat-dropped.  
"That just has to be Mihoshi," Ranko stated the obvious.  
Everyone else nodded solemnly.  
Rei said, "Let's go."  
  
Mihoshi picked herself up and dusted herself off again.   
She was fine, but the motorcycle was a total loss. Going over   
60mph straight into a stone wall had crumpled the bike into a mess   
of metal. The explosion afterwards hadn't left much that could be   
recognized. Mihoshi was feeling a little irritated with whoever had   
made the bike. Did they know that they forgot the brake pedal? It   
was a good thing that she had fallen off onto that old couch when   
she had taken that turn or she may have been driving around   
forever. She was just happy that she had lost that big robot bug   
some time back.  
Mihoshi looked around, but, seeing that everything still   
looked unfamiliar, reasoned that she was still lost. She was out in   
front of some big, darkened building by the sea. Well, Mihoshi   
thought, a building that big just has to have a phone or two. She   
went inside.  
Mihoshi eventually stumbled upon a large empty room,   
where a little blonde-haired girl was writing on the walls with   
chalk. She was wearing a Sailor V jumper and drawing crude   
depictions of anime characters, usually engaged in some sort of   
violent activity. Mallets seemed to be the weapon of choice. Even   
Sailor V held a hammer high over her head.  
A lightbulb went off in Mihoshi's mind, one that said, *Isn't   
there something familiar about the girl? Haven't you seen her   
somewhere before?* However, it was too dim for Mihoshi to   
notice it.  
"Ano?" Mihoshi said to her.  
"Hai?" the little girl replied.  
"You wouldn't happen to know where there's a phone   
around her, would you?"  
The little girl shook her head.  
*What else?* Mihoshi thought. She knew that there were   
other things that she was supposed to be looking for. Then she   
remembered the list she had made and took it out.  
"Do you know where I can get a blender?"  
The girl shook her head again.  
Mihoshi took out some photos and gave them to the little   
girl. "Well, do you know where I can find the people in these   
pictures? The little girl is named Sana, who used to work for the   
USSD, and the man is her son which she kidnapped." Rei had told   
Mihoshi something like that anyway.  
"This one," said the little girl, pointing to the picture of the   
little girl, "is me."  
Mihoshi took the picture back and looked at it closely.   
"Wow, you're right!" Well, with such poor lighting in there it was   
hard to tell.  
"And this one," Sana said again, pointing at the picture of   
the blonde woman, "is you."  
Mihoshi took that photo and looked at it closely. It was a   
picture of her in a swimsuit and straw hat that Rei had found when   
she had confiscated her brother's hentai photo collection. How did   
that get in there?  
"And this one," the girl continued, pointing at the last   
picture, "is that guy over there."  
Mihoshi turned to face the guy she had been looking for,   
along with several others, standing in a doorway. She also noticed   
the boomer who had been chasing her for the past half hour had   
finally caught up. It was one of those new insect types, oddly   
painted orange and black.  
The bug-boomer made some odd chittering noises. The   
guy responded, "No, we can't kill her now. Lord Jinnai wants to   
know who she's working for first."  
"I work as an aerobics instructor as Ozaki Fitness," Mihoshi   
told them, trying to be helpful. She wasn't going to tell them she   
was also a Knight Saber. Rei had told Mihoshi that if she ever told   
anyone that, Mihoshi would never get to eat any ice cream ever   
again. She wouldn't like that at all. They didn't have anything like   
ice cream on her home planet, or sake either.  
"Why were you looking for me and the girl then?"  
"Because the USSD hired us to," Mihoshi said, thinking   
that this should be pretty clear to anyone.  
"Why would they hire an aerobics instructor to find us?"  
"I don't know. Maybe they thought you were starting to get   
flabby and needed to get back into shape."  
The bug-boomer started chittering again. It sounded oddly   
like begging. The man thought for a while, before replying, "No,   
we need to find out exactly what she knows. Tell us everything."  
"Everything?" Mihoshi asked, sounding very surprised.  
The man nodded.  
"Well, it all started when . . ."  
  
Saber-Blue, Saber-Purple, and Saber-Red all rushed to the   
scene, only to find Mihoshi sitting there, talking in her sleep, while   
a little blonde girl curled up in her lap. Various thugs were   
gathered around her snoozing. Even one of the new-type boomers   
was out cold on the ground.  
"Then I slipped on the hot chocolate, knocked into Kiyone,   
and we both fell into a huge vat of ice cream with sprinkles. It was   
rocky road with rainbow sprinkles. Kiyone . . ." Mihoshi   
muttered.  
"Just what the hell is going on here?" Saber-Red shouted.   
She had raced all this way to save someone who she wasn't sure   
she wanted to save in the first place, only to find everyone   
sleeping. She wanted action, battle, chases, explosion, mayhem;   
not nap time.  
"Perhaps you shouldn't have shouted so loud," Saber-Purple   
told her. There was the man and the little girl that they were   
looking for. If they just grabbed them while everyone was   
sleeping, they could do the job without any trouble. It would be so   
nice to actually get paid for once.  
Unfortunately, her warning came a little too late. The bug-  
boomer snapped awake and the thugs were already stirring.   
Mihoshi and the girl in her lap remained asleep, however. She was   
muttering something about Tenchi and heavenly hash.  
The bug-boomer took one look at Mihoshi and lunged for   
her with an odd chittering battle cry. Saber-Red managed to block   
its path, but it was having a hard time keeping the enraged bug-  
boomer at bay. This model was even stronger than the one they   
had fought last night.  
Ami shook Mihoshi and whispered to her, "Wake up   
Mihoshi." They had to get Mihoshi to the truck and into her   
hardsuit quick before the bug-boomer broke free of Ranko. At   
least stop her mutterings, they were starting mess with Ami's mind.  
Sana's eyes snapped open and she shouted, "Oh no, I'm late   
for school!"  
Mihoshi only muttered something about space pirates, Jurai   
princesses, chopped nuts, and pineapples.  
Sana looked around a bit. "Huh? This isn't my room. Who   
are you?"  
"We are the Knight Sabers," Rei told her. "We've been   
hired by the USSD to find you."  
  
Ranko was having a hard enough time fighting the one   
boomer, when the guy they were supposed to be looking for   
shouted, "Destroy them! For the glory of Genom and Lord Jinnai!"  
Then the three thugs did the 'burst outta the skin' trick to   
reveal one bug-boomer and two normal ones.  
*Damn,* Ranko thought, *this is not going to be easy.*   
She gritted her teeth and psyched herself up for another Chestnut   
Fist. The last time hadn't done more than cause a few dents, but   
maybe she'd get lucky. She should be able to take out one of the   
normal boomers at least.  
  
Ami shook the blonde woman violently and shouted,   
"Come on, Mihoshi, wake up!"  
"Just five more minutes, Mom," Mihoshi responded   
without opening her eyes.  
Rei knelt down and whispered in her ear, "Mihoshi, you're   
missing your favorite TV show."  
Immediately, Mihoshi's eyes snapped open and she said,   
"What? 'Go, Go, AD Police Policeman' is on now?"  
"Ami," Rei ordered, "take Mihoshi and the little girl to the   
truck while I help Ranko with the boomers."  
"Hai," Ami answered and hauled the two confused girls   
away. Mihoshi was complaining that she hadn't got to the part   
where Tenchi had fallen into the vat of marshmallow topping and   
everyone dove in to save him yet. Ami decided that she did not   
want to know what the blonde Knight Saber was talking about.  
  
Rei jumping in was a great relief to Ranko. She didn't like   
to admit it, but she wasn't doing too well against four boomers.   
Actually, it was all she could do not to end up seriously hurt.   
Thankfully, only two of the boomers were the new insect types,   
while the others were the old humanoid types which were much   
easier to deal with. Unfortunately, she was facing too many   
opponents at once and her special moves would leave her too open   
for a counterattack.  
Suddenly, one of the bug-boomers broke free from the   
fighting and charged after where Ami and Mihoshi had gone.   
Ranko was about to spring after it when Rei told her, "Let it go.   
Ami should be able to hold it off long enough for Mihoshi to get   
suited up."  
Ranko didn't question Rei's confidence in Mihoshi. It   
seemed that whenever she was in a fight, the only people who got   
hurt was everyone else. Ranko was starting to think that there was   
something very unusual about the blonde Knight Saber, aside fromt   
the obvious.  
"Just who are you?" the remaining bug-boomer asked in   
perfect Japanese. It was bigger than the other one, colored yellow   
and green.  
"We are the Knight Sabers," Rei told it.  
"Yeah, and we're going to kick your butt in the name of the   
moon," Ranko added.  
There was a moment of silence in which Saber-Blue turned   
to face Saber-Red. Ranko shrugged helplessly. She had no idea   
why she had said that. Ami must be rubbing off on her.  
  
Meanwhile, Ami, who was carrying Sana, and Mihoshi   
managed to make it to the truck before the boomer caught up with   
the fleeing Sabers. Keiichi and Belldandy were waiting inside.   
Keiichi had tried to convince the young goddess that it would be   
too dangerous for her to go, but she had insisted on staying with   
him.  
"Belldandy, you take care of the girl," Ami ordered,   
unaware of how much she sounded like Rei at the moment.   
"Keiichi, help Mihoshi suit up. I'll hold off the boomer."  
Ami knew that she wasn't good at direct, hand to hand   
fighting, but she didn't have a choice in the matter. The bug-  
boomer tried to charge past her, but she blocked its path.  
"You'll have to get through me first!" she told it, fist   
upraised. There was no way she was going to let this thing hurt   
one of her friends.  
The bug-boomer snarled as it lunged at her. Ami dodged,   
but not fast enough to avoid a deep scrape in her suit's armor. It   
was nothing serious, but Ami knew that if she had taken it full on   
she might have been cut in half. While her hardsuit enhanced her   
reflexes about as well as her old fuku, these new boomers were   
tougher than any yoma or daimon she had ever faced.  
  
"Mihoshi-san," Belldandy said to the Knight Saber as she   
was finishing suiting up.  
"Hai?"  
"Here, take this. It might help you fight those boomer   
things." Belldandy handed her what looked like no more than a toy   
hammer. The goddess thought it was appropriate. The hammer   
was meant for hunting down bugs after all.  
"Um, Belldandy," Keiichi said to her. "I don't want to   
sound judgmental, but isn't that a little small to use on a boomer?"  
"Just push the button on the handle and it will get bigger."   
Her sister had added that feature to be used on really big bugs.  
When Mihoshi's finger inched towards the button,   
Belldandy stopped her, alarmed. "No, not in here. Wait until you   
get outside."  
Mihoshi thought about it for a moment, then smiled and   
nodded. After putting her helmet on, she saluted Belldandy with   
the hammer, accidentally bonking herself in the head, and left.  
Belldandy wondered if she had just made a big mistake.  
  
Ami ducked and weaved the best she could, trying all of her   
suit's weapons on the thing, but they were having little effect on the   
bug-boomer's armor. She knew that her suit had the weakest   
weapons in order to leave room for enhancements to her Mercury   
computer, but she should have been doing some damage. The   
situation was starting to get desperate. If something didn't happen   
soon, then she might die, again. Only there wasn't a Silver Crystal   
to bring her back this time.  
Just then a voice rang out from somewhere above them.   
Ami looked up in surprise to see Saber-Black posing dramatically   
on the top of the truck. For a moment Ami saw another blonde   
standing there instead, one with a ridiculous dumpling-head hairdo.   
She blinked and the vision was gone.  
"Giant insects fighting people is just evil! I, a beautiful,   
graceful, and extremely competent first class detective, will not   
allow it! In the name of the Galaxy Police, I will squash you!"  
The bug-boomer began to laugh when it saw the tiny   
hammer that the Knight Saber was shaking in its direction. Its   
laugher died abruptly when the hammer suddenly grew to ten times   
its original size.  
Mihoshi hefted the giant hammer high above her head and,   
with a flying leap, brought it down on the head of the boomer,   
crushing it flat with sounds of grinding metal and squishing   
organics.  
"Eww! Yucky!" she declared as she shrunk the hammer   
back to its original size and saw what was left of her opponent. A   
boomer pancake, gross.  
  
Mihoshi handed Belldandy back her hammer before joining   
the others. "Thanks so much!"  
Belldandy accepted it hesitantly. It was still dripping with a   
pinkish slime. "Ah Keiichi, do you have a rag that I can use?"  
  
By the time Saber-Purple and Saber-Black had rejoined   
their fellow Knight Sabers, two of the boomers had been destroyed.   
Only the advanced insect boomer remained and even it had not   
survived so long unscathed. Its carapace was covered with scrapes   
and gouges. One antennae was broken at the end, while the other   
was completely missing. An arm was twisted at an unnatural angle   
even for a bug and it was favoring its right leg.  
Ami noticed that Rei and Ranko looked nearly as bad.  
Strangely, though, when the boomer saw the other two   
Knight Sabers, it threw back its head and laughed. "You puny   
humans cannot hope to defeat me, Lord Jinnai's greatest creation!   
Now I will show you my true power! Behold your doom!"  
That was when the boomer started to melt. The Knight   
Sabers thought that this was some sort of malfunction, but then   
they saw that it had actually absorbed the remains of the other two   
boomers and gotten bigger. Then it started absorbing the floor.  
"Attack, now!" Rei ordered.  
The Knight Sabers used every weapon at their disposal, but   
the best they could do was slow down the thing's fusion with the   
room. It had already filled up most of the space by the time Rei   
ordered a retreat.  
Most of the Knight Sabers stood stunned in awe as the   
building they had just been in began to reshape and reform itself   
into a giant bug. Ami was starting to feel like an extra in an old   
giant robot anime. She was hoping that this wouldn't one where   
most of the characters die at the end.  
  
Rally stood by her car as she watched Aqua City melt and   
reshape itself like clay in the hands of an invisible craftsman. *A   
craftsman with very odd tastes,* she thought as the giant form   
began to clearly resemble a insect. Rally had held back when she   
had seen the Knight Sabers arrive, but this might be too much for   
even them to handle. She opened up the trunk and pulled out a   
very large gun, faint smile on her lips.  
"I've been saving this for a special occasion."  
  
"Ami," Rei ordered in a sharp tone that got Saber-Purple's   
attention, "use your computer to scan the boomer for weaknesses."  
"Hai," she replied and quickly began the scan. The   
hardsuit's sensors greatly enhanced the range of her Mercury   
computer. "The weakness is in the mouth. The thing's throat leads   
right to the boomer's true brain. A single shot to the exposed brain   
should kill it."  
"But wouldn't one of you have to actually go down that   
giant insect's throat just to shoot at it?" Belldandy, who had been   
listening in on the truck's radio, commented. "How horrible!"  
"I'll do it," Ranko said evenly.  
"No, Ranko," Rei told her. "Your suit is too damaged.   
Mihoshi would be a better choice."  
Unfortunately, Ranko had either turned her suit's radio off   
or wasn't listening, because she had already made a massive jump   
for the creature's mouth before Rei had finished speaking.  
Rei sighed. She couldn't let the girl go and kill herself.   
"Ami, go after Ranko. Mihoshi and I will distract the boomer in   
the meantime."  
Ami nodded and the Knight Sabers went to work.  
  
Ranko had only been truly frightened a few times in her   
life. The first had been the cats, then the several times she had   
thought to be stuck permanently as a girl. Worst of all was during   
the battle with Saffron when Akane had nearly died. This boomer   
had scared her badly and the only way she knew to overcome that   
fear, to defeat it, was to destroy the thing herself.  
So she fell down the throat of the beast, bouncing off the   
'walls' to slow her descent, while dodging tentacles that sprouted   
from all over the place, until finally she had reached the exposed   
brain. Ranko raised her gun to fire, only to have it jam on her.   
Looking closely, she noticed that one of the tentacles' near strikes   
had damaged the firing mechanism. Damn.  
Ranko tried to get in close enough to nail the brain with a   
chestnut fist, but the tentacles effectively kept her at bay. She only   
had one option left. She'd never tried to do this with the suit on   
before, but there was a first time for everything. "Moko   
Takabisha!"  
The ki blast struck the brain dead center, destroying it, but   
there was some sort of painful, searing feedback that made her   
hands hurt like hell. There was also the added problem of the giant   
bug-boomer falling apart all around her.  
  
Outside, the other Knight Sabers were surprised when the   
giant bug-boomer that they had been fighting suddenly started to   
disintegrate.  
"Huh?" Mihoshi said, summing up everyone's thoughts at   
the moment.  
"Ranko must have done it," Rei said.  
"Yeah, but where is she?" Keiichi asked. "I can't find her   
on any of the monitors."  
"Ami, did you locate her?"  
"Negative. I couldn't even get close enough to the mouth   
with those tentacles it kept sprouting. I'll try to -- Aarrgghh!!"  
"Ami, what happened?" Rei asked. "Ami, please respond."  
After there was only silence, Rei asked her brother, "Do   
you have any idea what just happened to Ami?"  
"There was a chopper in the area for a moment there,   
though its gone now. It might have shot her down."  
"What is her current location?"  
"Unknown. The bug-boomer's slow death is putting out too   
much interference to detect anything on the ground. I'll send you   
her last known location."  
"Mihoshi," Rei addressed the Knight Saber next to her, "I'll   
go after Ami, you try to find Ranko."  
Mihoshi nodded seriously and they both left.  
  
Rally watched in awe as the giant boomer started to come   
to pieces around her. *Guess the Sabers didn't need my help after   
all,* she thought as she hefted her cannon. *But it was nice to get   
to use this thing even if it didn't do much good.*  
That was when Rally came across Saber-Red, who   
stumbled through the wreckage only to fall flat on her face. She   
didn't stir for several moments after. Rally shouldered her weapon   
and ran up to the fallen Knight Saber.  
"Hey, you all right?"  
"I don't think I can stand up right now," Ranko answered   
slowly, as if the words were coming through clenched teeth.  
"Let me help you then."  
"I don't need nobody's help."  
*Not only is she stubborn,* Rally thought, *but she has bad   
grammar as well.* The ADP detective wrapped her arm around   
the armored torso and did her best to help the Knight Saber to   
stand. She almost fell on her backside. Those suits were heavy   
and slick to the touch.  
"Hey --"  
"Stuff it," Rally told her in anger. "Bet your legs sprained,   
maybe even broken. If I don't help you out of here, than this   
place'll be your tomb. You need my help."  
After a few moments, Saber-Red nodded.  
Ranko looked up at her rescuer as they hobbled their way   
out of the danger zone. That was when she realized that it was the   
AD Police officer she had spoken to earlier when she was out   
getting the food, Rally something or other. She thought that with   
the short hair this woman resembled a slightly older version of   
Akane. *Yeah right,* Ranko thought, *that tomboy wouldn't offer   
me help if I was sinking in quicksand. Besides, she said that she   
liked my music.* Ranko doubted that anyone back home would   
understand that even though it started out as a way to make money,   
she had come to love making music almost as much as she loved   
martial arts. Ranko began to smile a little, despite the pain she was   
in.  
  
The Knight Sabers regrouped about a block away from the   
remains of Aqua City. Belldandy still sat in the truck with Keiichi,   
holding the sleeping little girl in her lap. Once Keiichi has assured   
her that no one else was in the area, Rei had gotten out of her   
damaged hardsuit, but Ami had stayed in hers in case of trouble.   
She hadn't seen what hit her, but her suit hadn't taken any serious   
damage.  
Mihoshi dropped off Ranko before Rei. The blonde Knight   
Saber had found Rally helping Saber-Red out of the wreckage and   
had taken over. Ranko studied her feet as she tried to keep her   
balance on her one good leg while Rei silently stared at her.  
"I'll help her get her armor off," Rei finally said. "Keiichi,   
get the medical kit and set it up in the truck. Ami, get out of your   
hardsuit and get ready to treat her injuries. Mihoshi, patrol the area   
for signs of trouble. We're not leaving until Ranko is taken care   
of."  
"And Ranko?" Rei added after everyone else had started on   
what she had told them to do.  
"Hai?"  
"Disobey my orders again and you're off the team."  
Ranko nodded. "Gomen. It won't happen again, Rei."  
She had agreed to follow Rei's orders when she joined up   
and knew her little stunt had nearly gotten her killed. Ranko didn't   
mind risking her life for others, but knew she had just been foolish   
and reckless. Besides, she was too tired and sore to argue.  
Rei only nodded in response as she helped Ranko into the   
truck, where she could lie down after her armor had been removed.  
  
Ranko was sleeping in the back of the truck as they headed   
for home. Keiichi was careful to drive slow and avoid bumps so   
not to jostle her. Belldandy was helping him pick the best routes.   
The goddess seemed to have a knack for navigation. Actually, she   
had simply tuned herself into one of the satellites overhead.  
Ami had just finished tidying up after taking care of Ranko.  
"So how is she?" Rei asked.  
"Most of her injuries were minor, or at least look that way   
now. Ranko heals faster than anyone I've ever seen before. Quite   
a few painful bruises and she'll have to go easy on her left leg, but   
most of that should be cleared up in a few days. The worst were   
the burns on her hands. It looks like she tried one of those fireballs   
of hers while still in the hardsuit. I applied some cream to help   
with the burning and bandaged her hands up, but even at the rate   
she heals it'll be at least a week before they will be all right."  
Rei nodded.  
"What do you plan to do with the girl?" Ami asked her.  
"I'm going to find out what the USSD wanted with her   
first."  
"Shouldn't we bring her back to her parents?"  
"She doesn't have any parents. She's a boomer."  
Ami was shocked. "How do you know?"  
"I know."  
There was something in Rei's tone that made Ami decide   
not to inquire further.  
  
The Knight Sabers finally returned to Rei's apartment after   
a long day. Ranko had woken up briefly; Ami had ignored her   
protests and ordered her to sleep in one of Rei's guest rooms.   
Ranko didn't put up much of a fight and was dreaming in minutes.   
Belldandy put the little girl in her own bed and unrolled a   
futon for herself. Then she got started on some snacks for   
everyone. She had seen someone serving cheese and crackers on a   
TV show and wanted to try it out.  
Everyone else sat around Rei's room. Keiichi was setting   
up for the call to the USSD. He'd make sure that no one could   
trace this. Mihoshi was sipping on a little warmed sake while   
reading some new manga she had brought with her. Rei was   
nursing a cup of coffee as she sat at her computer, jotting down   
notes on the latest adventure of the Knight Sabers.  
Ami was lying on Rei's bed in a half-doze. It had been a   
long day. She knew Rei would just let her go home if she asked to,   
but she still wanted to know why the USSD would want the little   
girl so badly, especially if Rei was right and she was a boomer.   
Besides, she wanted to be here to support Rei in any way that she   
could. Ami admired their leader for being such a strong and   
independent woman, something she was striving to be herself.  
"Good evening everyone," said Belldandy cheerily as she   
entered the room, "I've made you all some snacks."  
"Wow, snacks!" Mihoshi exclaimed, putting down her   
manga and practically jumping for the tray that Belldandy was   
holding.  
"They're so cute!" the blonde space detective enthused,   
holding up a cracker with a cheese-painted smiley face on it. The   
cracker quickly vanished into her fanged mouth. "Yummy!"  
Belldandy blushed faintly with the praise as Mihoshi took   
two more and went back to her manga.  
"Thank you," said Rei as she took the offered cracker and   
set it down next to her rapidly cooling, half-full cup of coffee.  
Belldandy nodded and went on to serve Keiichi. He was   
working on getting the communications equipment set up, so he   
didn't notice her until she was standing right next to him.   
Ironically enough, while he was working half of his thoughts had   
been of her.  
"Hello, Keiichi," she said, her lips only inches away from   
his ear.  
He jumped in surprise and automatically tried clinging to   
the ceiling, but it was too smooth to get a grip and he fell on his   
head. The teenager wondered how Ranko managed to do that trick   
as he rubbed a growing bump on his noggin.  
"Oh, my, Keiichi, I didn't mean to startle you. Are you all   
right?" Belldandy asked, as she started checking him for injuries.  
Having overheard what Belldandy had just said, Ami   
wondered if she was just imagining that the pause between 'my' and   
'Keiichi' was much shorter than it should have been. It was strange   
how quickly everyone had accepted a goddess into their midst, but   
even Ami had to acknowledge that there was something about   
Belldandy that made you want to trust her.  
Keiichi quickly put a little distance between himself and the   
goddess. He did not want to think about her hands on him at the   
moment. "I'm fine, really. I guess that I was so engrossed in   
setting this gear up that I didn't notice you."  
Keiichi had seemed lost in thought. Belldandy wondered if   
he had been thinking about Ranko. She thought that he had   
seemed a little too worried about making the redhead comfortable   
on the ride home.  
Actually, Keiichi was busy thinking about the goddess who   
stood so close to him. How in two days she had completely turned   
his world upside-down. He hadn't even tried to peek when he was   
helping Mihoshi on with her suit or when Ami was examining   
Ranko. Things like that didn't seem to matter to him anymore, as   
long as he had Belldandy.  
"Is the equipment ready yet, Keiichi?" Rei asked from her   
computer, startling both the young goddess and the mortal boy out   
of their thoughts.  
"Almost, sis," Keiichi answered back after he'd collected   
himself. Belldandy decided to take a seat so as to not get in the   
way of his work. A few more adjustments and he was done.  
"All set, sis. We'll be able to see him, but he won't be able   
to see us. And if they try to trace the call, they'll end up   
somewhere in South America."  
"Good work, Keiichi. Make the call."  
It was a surprised general who answered at home.  
"This is the Knight Sabers," Rei told him.  
"Ah, yes, I should have guessed. Have you completed the   
mission?"  
"We recovered the girl."  
"And the man?"  
"Turned out to be a bug-boomer. We had no choice but to   
destroy him."  
The general nodded. "I guess that's all for the best then.   
When are you going to deliver the girl to us?"  
"No."  
"What? What do you mean 'no'?"  
"I mean that I will not be delivering her until you tell me   
why you made a boomer in the image of a little girl."  
The general began to look very uncomfortable. "We were   
developing a new control unit for the satellite platforms. Our   
research showed that the form of a little girl would be the least   
conspicuous. We even gave her a real personality, derived from   
cartoon shows that depicted girls of her age group."  
"What kind of shows?" Ami asked.  
"Sailor V, Child's Mallet, things like that."  
Ami, Ranko, and Keiichi looked at the general in horror,   
even though he couldn't see them. That could be even worse than a   
chibi-Mihoshi.  
Rei was expressionless as always. "How does she control   
the satellites?"  
"There's a box attached to the back of her brain that is the   
main control unit. It's all completely self-contained in case the   
boomer was destroyed."  
"Then I will remove this black box and deliver it to you in   
the morning. I will keep the boomer as a partial payment."  
"What? The black box is an intrigual part of the boomer, it   
will cease to function without it."  
"That is not your concern," Rei said and was about to cut   
the connection, when she added, "General, make sure next time   
that you choose a non-human form for your devices. It would be   
safer in the long run." Then she finally terminated the call.  
Ami and Ranko exchanged glances. If they hadn't known   
Rei better, they would say that last bit had sounded like a threat.  
  
"Rei-san," Belldandy pleaded with her, "you mustn't   
remove that black box, otherwise Sana will die." The young   
goddess hadn't known the little girl for very long, but she already   
felt quite attached to her. It had felt so nice when Sana had been   
sleeping in her arms, almost as if she were her child.  
"It is not my intention to have her cease to function," Rei   
responded. "Keiichi, please bring Sana down to my workroom. I   
will need your assistance in the operation. Belldandy, you should   
go to sleep, I don't know how long this will take. Ami and   
Mihoshi, you're welcome to stay the night if you wish."  
"Thanks anyway, Rei," Ami told her, "but I have to get up   
early for first shift tomorrow."  
"Oh, me too," Mihoshi said.  
Everyone said their good-byes, agreeing to meet tomorrow   
as early as possible.  
Keiichi and Rei exchanged nods. They knew that for them   
it was going to be a long night.  
Belldandy, back to her room, thought only for a moment   
before reaching for the phone and dialing a very long number. She   
didn't know anything about machines, but she could tell from the   
expression on Keiichi's face that this operation wasn't going to be   
easy. They might need help, and the young goddess knew just who   
to call. 


	3. Default Chapter Title

The Neon Knight Sabers  
(A NGE / Oh My Goddess! / Sailor Moon / Tenchi Muyo / Ranma   
One Half / Gunsmith Cats / El-Hazard / Bubblegum Crisis /   
kitchen sink Crossover)  
By Ammadeau  
Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org  
http://Ammadeau.tripod.com/fanfiction.htm  
  
Note: Thanks out to my pre-readers Angus McSpon and Larry F.   
Sorry it took me so long to revise this.  
  
***  
  
From his office high atop the Genom Pyramid, Katsuhiko   
Jinnai could look down from his window to see the outside of the   
lab where technicians were assembling his latest and greatest   
creation, the Super Bug-Boomer. The 'tests' of the previous   
models, thanks to the Knight Sabers, had shown several flaws in   
his earlier design which he had hastened to correct. His only   
irritation was due to one part which he had failed to obtain. Yet.  
Jinnai might have been down in that lab, watching them   
assemble his historic creation, if not for the fact that he was   
currently on the phone with Chairman Quincy, who was overseeing   
another branch of Genom in Europe. The call was audio-only. For   
some reason, Quincy disliked talking face to face. He even tended   
to keep his office dark.  
There was another reason Jinnai wasn't down in the lab, but   
he chose not to think about it at the moment.  
"I am told you have failed in obtaining the item that we had   
discussed," Quincy told him.  
"A minor setback, trivial really. The Knight Sabers will   
deliver our little black box back to the USSD and we'll simply take   
it from them again. A flawless plan, if I do say so myself."  
"As I recall, the last operation took a month to set up. The   
USSD will be expecting someone to try something this time."  
"That hardly matters. I put everything in place during the   
confusion of the last attempt, as a backup. I knew that there was a   
chance of failure for even my brilliant plan. By the time the USSD   
realizes their little toy is gone, it will already be too late."  
"I'll leave it to you then. Remember, there must be nothing   
to connect this to Genom. I run a respectable company."  
"Not to worry. I'll make sure there are no witnesses."  
Jinnai hung up the phone and smiled as the sound of an   
explosion drifted up to him. He picked up the phone again and   
dialed a number.  
"Hello? Yes, it's time. The lab should be clear now. Be   
careful when you move the boomer. It's a delicate machine."  
He hung up the phone once again, threw back his head, and   
laughed.  
  
Program 3: Boomer Troubles  
  
Keiichi relaxed in the bath with a sigh. Rei and he had   
started working on the Sana-boomer at a little after one AM. It   
was now six in the morning. They weren't even close to finished,   
but were currently at a stage in the operation where they could take   
a much-needed break. His sister was probably in her private pool,   
which for some reason she kept at near-body temperature.  
Keiichi lay in a half-doze, and so was completely   
unprepared when from the bathtub rose up a column of light, out of   
which stepped a young girl around twelve years old, dressed in   
white robes similar to those Belldandy had been wearing when she   
had first arrived. She also had similar facial markings. Keiichi,   
however, was a little too stunned at the moment to draw any   
conclusions from this.  
"Hope I got the right place this time," the girl said to herself   
as she looked around. Then she noticed Keiichi, specifically that   
he was naked. The fact that he was in the middle of a bath and she   
had walked in on him never entered her mind. "Eeek!!! Hentai!!"  
Keiichi never even saw the mallet that knocked him   
unconscious and so missed the realization that he was in the   
presence of yet another divine being. In this way, the goddess   
Skuld had arrived at the Ayanami residence.  
  
Rei had finished her swim a while ago and was now in   
search of her brother. They had agreed to meet back at the lab ten   
minutes ago and it was unlike him to be late. As she searched the   
apartment, she wondered if it was time to call in Washu on this.   
The short redhead was a bit unreliable, but she was a genius and   
removing the black box from Sana while keeping her functional   
was proving to be a more difficult task than Rei had originally   
anticipated.  
So she was a little surprised to see a strange short girl with   
long black hair step out of the bathroom. She had on clothes   
similar to what a Shinto priestess in training would wear and bore   
marks on her face much like Belldandy's. There was a feeling about   
her similar to the one that Rei got around the Goddess of the   
Present, something she didn't quite understand.  
The girl walked right up to the leader of the Knight Sabers   
and asked, "You must be Rei Ayanami, right?"  
Rei blinked. "Yes, who are you?"  
"I'm Skuld, Goddess of the Future. My big sister Belldandy   
called, saying that you were having problems with a robot, so I'm   
here to help!"  
It was hard even for Rei to not look highly dubious of this.  
"Your sister attempted to repair some cellular phones, but   
ended blowing them up instead."  
Skuld nodded. "She's not very good with machines, since   
they're _my_ sphere of influence. I've been repairing things for   
hundreds of years now, so don't worry. There's nothing mechanical   
that I can't fix!"  
That was when Keiichi entered the hallway, clad only in a   
towel, and absently rubbing a sizable bump on his head.  
"Skuld," Rei said to the goddess, "this is my brother,   
Keiichi."  
"I knew it, ecchi!" Skuld once again drew her mallet to use   
it in a way it wasn't intended for. The teenager managed to avoid a   
game of whack-a-Keiichi this time, however.  
  
Skuld marched confidently into the lab, carefully studying   
all of the machines until she finally reached Sana lying on one of   
the laboratory tables. She spent several minutes peering closely at   
the patient and then the monitors before she spoke.  
"So, where's the robot?"  
Rei and Keiichi face-faulted.  
"That's her right on the table!" Keiichi nearly shouted. He   
was normally a calm and polite boy, but lack of sleep, being   
repeatedly called a hentai despite the fact that she was the one that   
spontaneously appeared while he'd been taking a nice bath, and not   
to mention a mallet to the head, had pushed him over the edge.  
"Well, Mr. Hentai--"  
"That's Ayanami!"  
"Whatever. The girl on the table isn't a robot. From what I   
can determine, she's a bio-mechanical android of a type that I have   
never seen before."  
"She's a boomer," Rei informed the goddess.  
"My field of expertise is really robots, but if you can give   
me some information of these boomers, I'll see what I can do."  
Rei hesitated for a bit before she punched up some detailed   
schematics on a computer. She was reluctant to share this   
information with a complete stranger, but Skuld had that same   
indefinable quality of older sister that made one trust her almost   
immediately. Besides, Rei was starting to doubt that she could   
save Sana without help, and this pre-pubescent goddess seemed   
somewhat more reliable than Washu.  
Skuld sat herself down before it and started flipping   
through the information faster than even the leader of the Knight   
Sabers could follow.  
"Oh, I get it now!" Skuld said finally, "This'll be a piece of   
cake! Why don't you both wait outside and give me room to   
work?"  
"Don't tell me that you can fix her all by yourself?" Keiichi   
asked dubiously. He doubted that a little girl could succeed where   
her and his sister couldn't, even if she was a goddess.  
"Of course not, ecchi. That's why I brought help!"  
"That's Keiichi!"  
Skuld ignored him, instead pulling out a metal ball that was   
half white and half red. "I choose you, Banpei!"  
There was a sudden cloud of smoke. When it cleared,   
Skuld was dressed in a pink surgeon's outfit, while standing next to   
her was a dumpy-looking robot dressed as a nurse.  
"All right, we're ready to operate!"  
Banpei beeped in agreement.  
Keiichi and Rei sweat-dropped.  
  
In another room of the apartment, Belldandy was beginning   
to awaken. Most goddesses and gods didn't need to sleep, though   
they usually did anyway. Belldandy was different since this was   
the way she recharged her energy on Earth. She didn't actually   
need to when the Yggdrasil system was operating properly as it   
was at the moment, but it still made her feel nice and refreshed   
anyway.  
She smiled a bit as she looked around the room that Rei had   
provided her. She was such a nice woman, letting her stay there on   
short notice. Then she frowned a bit, thinking of Rei. The goddess   
knew the woman's entire history and sympathized with all that she   
had gone through. Belldandy decided to try and do something nice   
for her in return soon.  
Her eyes eventually settled on a table that was bare, all   
except for the gift that Keiichi had given her. It was small and not   
worth much money, but to the young goddess it was more precious   
than any horde of treasure.  
It was a small hologram projector that showed the image of   
a bird singing. Its songs were meant to be both lullaby at night and   
alarm clock in the morning. Sometimes it even sounded like the   
bird was singing her name. More precious than the gift itself was   
the fact that Keiichi had made it for her and her alone.   
  
When Belldandy entered the kitchen with the intention of   
making breakfast, she was surprised to find Rei and Keiichi already   
there, sharing a pot of tea between them. Rei looked the same as   
ever, though her eyes might have been a bit redder. Keiichi looked   
like someone resigned to the fact that he wasn't going to be able to   
sleep for a long time to come. Belldandy was instantly worried,   
but not sure what she could do for him.  
"Did you finish fixing Sana?" she asked.  
"Your younger sister is working on her at the moment," Rei   
told her. "She wished for us to remain outside so as to not get in   
her way."  
"Oh, you mean Skuld?" The teenage goddess had nearly   
forgotten that she had called her mechanically-inclined sister for   
help last night.  
Belldandy noticed that Keiichi had frowned slightly and   
rubbed his head a bit when she had mentioned her sister's name.   
That was odd. Everyone liked Skuld. It was her older sister Urd   
that people had trouble getting along with.  
"Oh, just give me a minute and I'll have breakfast ready."  
"You don't have to go through all that trouble for us   
Belldandy."  
"It's no trouble at all, Keiichi-san. I think I'll try making   
scrambled eggs today."  
All of Keiichi's protests vanished before the brilliance of   
Belldandy's smile.  
  
In yet another room, Ranko woke to a unfamiliar ceiling,   
and nearly shouted in surprise and a little horror to find herself   
wearing a frilly nightgown. Movement revealed her body to be   
stiff, and covered in spots of dull pain. She felt worse than any   
workout her old man had given her, closer to the aftereffects of a   
major battle with the eternally lost boy.  
It was as if the pain were a signal to remind Ranko of what   
had happened last night. How she had stupidly disobeyed Rei's   
orders just because the boomer had wounded her ego. She might   
have finished off the monster in the end, but she had put herself   
and the others at risk for no good reason. Maybe a year or two ago   
Ranko wouldn't have even thought of those things, but she'd like to   
think that she'd grown up a little during that time, especially after   
joining the Knight Sabers.  
Ranko honestly expected to get yelled at, even despite the   
fact that Rei had never raised her voice to anyone. Instead, there   
was Mihoshi saying how worried she had been, Rei gently helping   
her out of her armor, and Ami carefully tending her wounds, acting   
in some ways more like a mother than a doctor. She had even   
heard Keiichi saying how he was going to be careful and pick the   
smoothest route so Ranko wouldn't get jostled so much.  
Ranko had never had so many people being concerned   
about her welfare before, especially after totally screwing up like   
she did. Kasumi and her mom perhaps, but they cared almost at a   
distance. Ranko didn't feel close to them, not as she did with her   
fellow Knight Sabers.  
And Rei saying that if she ever disobeyed orders she'd be   
off the team. Ranko knew enough about her boss to know that she   
hadn't been bluffing. The redhead vowed to follow Rei's rules   
from then on to the letter. She didn't want to lose what she had.  
  
At roughly the same time and in another place in Mega-  
Tokyo, Rally Vincent was doing her job. This time it was   
investigating what was left of a Genom laboratory that had   
mysteriously exploded last night. Her partner Alielle was busy   
interviewing the guards who had been on duty at the time, all the   
while complaining loudly over the fact that Genom didn't seem to   
employ any female guards, while Rally poked around the lab for   
anything of interest. So far, there was no sign of what had caused   
the explosion and killed the dozen people that were working that   
night. What they were actually working on, was of course, top   
secret.  
"There are some days I hate this job," she said to herself,   
stifling a yawn, leaning against one of the ruined machines for   
support. She blinked in surprise and nearly fell over when it tipped   
right over. Rally smiled at the computer disk that it had uncovered,   
and first glancing around to make sure no one was looking, quickly   
slipped it into her pocket.  
One of the top execs of Genom was making a press   
announcement at the doors of the Genom Pryamid over the   
'accident' that had occurred. Having spent over an hour completely   
going over the site, Rally and Alielle only arrived near the end.  
" . . . and our deepest condolences go out to all the families   
of those who perished in last night's regrettable incident. They   
will, of course, be provided for."  
Alielle gasped in surprise when she saw who the exec was.   
It should have been impossible for him to be there, but she could   
not have forgotten his face, even if it had been ten years since she   
had seen it last. She pushed people aside in a rush to get out of the   
crowd. First the bugroms and now Jinnai himself. This had   
suddenly gotten much too serious for her to handle alone. She had   
some people she had to call.  
Rally shouted after her partner, trying to follow her, but lost   
her in the crowd. What had happened to her normally happy   
partner to have such a fearful expression? It was completely unlike   
her.  
This all hadn't passed the notice of one Mr. Jinnai, though   
he was a bit surprised to see a familiar face so soon. He turned to   
an advanced boomer who stood guard near him and told her,   
"Follow her. I want to know her every move."  
Panther grinned. "Of course, Mr. Jinnai."  
The cyber-boomer cleared the crowd in an impressive leap   
and was soon in pursuit of her quarry.  
  
Ranko was grinning as she exited the furo, though she had   
felt a bit uncomfortable using Rei's bathroom with the chance that   
someone might walk in on her. She was even more uncomfortable   
that she had to use only cold water just in case.  
Her spirits were high, even though her body felt like hell.   
Still, everything but her hands was almost fully healed, and even   
they weren't nearly as bad as they were last night.  
"You should still be in bed, Ranko," Rei told her when the   
redhead entered the kitchen. She, Keiichi, and Belldandy looked to   
be just finishing breakfast.  
"I'm fine, really," Ranko told her with a small laugh, "Heal   
fast."  
Rei stood and walked over to her. Ranko was a little put   
off by the serious look those red eyes were giving him, temporarily   
forgetting that Rei's eyes were almost always serious.  
"Let me see your hands," Rei demanded. She wasn't a fully   
qualified doctor like Ami, though she had learned a great deal of   
first aid over the years.  
Reluctantly, Ranko held her hands out to Rei, and blushed   
faintly when the older woman took her hands in hers, examining   
them closely. Maybe it was because Ranko's hands were overly   
sensitive after being burned so badly, but Rei's touch was very...   
soft, and smooth. Like the hands of someone who had never   
worked a day in her life, but Ranko knew that this wasn't true of   
Rei. In her hardsuit, those hands had ripped apart boomers.  
If Rei noticed Ranko's blush, she gave no outward sign.   
"You do heal exceptionally fast. Your hands should be fine in a   
few days, however I have some lotion I want you to rub on your   
hands and a pair of surgical gloves for you to wear. That should   
speed up healing and prevent infection."  
There were a few moments of silence after Rei let go of   
Ranko's hands, then the redhead nervously dropped her hands to   
her sides and said a bit shakily, "Thank you, Rei."  
"My concern is for your ability to act as a Knight Saber,"   
Rei told her. "I believe what we faced in Aqua City was only the   
beginning of something larger, and I will need you operating at   
your full capacity. Belldandy has left you some breakfast. Eat   
while I fetch the lotion and gloves." With that, Rei left.  
Ranko watched her go in surprise. She might have   
followed after the blue-haired woman if Belldandy hadn't called to   
her. "Don't you want breakfast, Ranko?"  
Ranko reluctantly turned away and sat down at the table.  
  
While Ranko ate her fill in silence, Keiichi helped   
Belldandy with the dishes. She had told him that she could easily   
do them alone, but he had insisted on helping. He didn't like the   
idea of her doing all the work. Besides, he wanted to be near her as   
often as possible. Belldandy didn't mind being near Keiichi   
herself. It was the fact that Ranko was also there that she had a   
problem with; but she said nothing about it.  
Belldandy was staring at her hands as she washed, when   
suddenly she shouted in surprise. "Why didn't I think of it before?   
Ranko, I can use my powers to heal your wounds."  
Ranko remembered the condition of the cell phones that   
Belldandy had tried to fix and edged away a bit fearfully from the   
goddess. "No, that's okay. I'll be all healed before you know it   
anyway. No reason for you to go through so much trouble," Ranko   
explained nervously.  
Belldandy took a step towards Ranko, not seeming to notice   
the apprehensive look in the redhead's eyes. "Why, it'll be no   
trouble at all. Just give me you hands, it'll only take a minute."  
"No!" Ranko shouted, hiding her hands behind her. "It's   
not that I don't trust you Belldandy... I just don't want to disappoint   
Rei. She seemed like she wanted to tend my hands herself for   
some reason. Don't know why though. Didn't seem too happy   
about it."  
Belldandy nodded and took a step back while Ranko   
breathed a sigh of relief. "She loves you all. All of the Knight   
Sabers are like daughters to her, but she's unsure of how to express   
her feelings, and that uncertainly makes her afraid of doing   
something wrong. So she hides these feelings deep inside herself."  
Keiichi turned to face his girlfriend in shock. Not only the   
fact that she seemed to understand Rei as well as he did, but also   
that Belldandy looked like she was about to cry. Acting on   
instinct, he put a comforting arm around her waist. Almost   
immediately, her sadness vanished.  
They all were silent until Ranko finally managed to say,   
"I... don't even know what to say to her now."  
When Rei returned, Ranko studied her as the blue-haired   
woman took care of her hands. Rei didn't even seem to notice her   
intense gaze.  
"Thank you," Ranko said suddenly as Rei finished. "I want   
to thank you for everything you've ever done for me, Rei. For   
taking care of me, watching out for me, for making me a Knight   
Saber. Everything."  
Ranko was surprised by the genuine smile that appeared on   
the older woman's face. "You're welcome, Ranko."  
  
Mihoshi and Ami dropped by Rei's apartment at the end of   
their shifts. Both were concerned for Sana, though Ami did her   
best not to show it. She knew from experience that worry wouldn't   
help matters, but felt extremely frustrated that all of her medical   
knowledge was basically worthless in this situation.  
"Is Sana going to be okay?" Mihoshi begged Keiichi   
immediately when he answered the door. Her eyes had gotten very   
large and rivers of tears ran down her cheeks.  
"Uhh..." was the best Keiichi could do, answering the door   
for find this... thing staring back at him.  
"It's okay, Mihoshi," Ami told her, seeing that Keiichi was   
close to freaking out. "I'm sure Sana will be fine."  
"Really?" Mihoshi asked, turning in Ami's direction.  
The former Sailor Mercury had to take a step back from her   
fellow Knight Saber, who was looking even scarier than a yoma at   
the moment.  
  
All of the Knight Sabers, along with Keiichi and Belldandy,   
were waiting outside the laboratory when Skuld had announced   
that she was almost finished. Rei sat patiently, arms crossed.   
Ranko sat fiddling with the gloves she now wore and occasionally   
glancing at Rei. Ami spent her time wondering what was going on   
in the lab right then, and wondering why Ranko was acting so   
oddly. Mihoshi spent the time intently studying the manga she had   
brought with her. Belldandy and Keiichi served everyone   
refreshments and spent the rest of their time holding hands.  
Finally, the door opened up a crack, and Skuld poked her   
head out. "Big sister!" she shouted in glee, running right into the   
arms of the older goddess, and incidentally knocking Keiichi on the   
floor. Ami had to stifle laughter seeing this. She was sure that had   
been purely intentional. From the look on Keiichi's face, he knew   
that it hadn't been an accident either. Still, he stood up and said   
nothing.  
After a few moments spent in a joyful reunion, Belldandy   
brought her sister to face the rest of them. "Skuld, you've already   
met Rei and Keiichi. I'd like you to meet Mihoshi, Ami, and   
Ranko."  
"Pleased to --" was all Skuld could managed before   
Mihoshi shouted gleefully and picked up the young goddess,   
spinning her around the room.  
"Wow, she's so cute!" Mihoshi declared, holding Skuld   
close like a stuffed animal.  
Skuld's head was spinning. "I think I'm going to be sick,"   
she muttered to herself.  
"Mihoshi!" Ami shouted, taking the young, and now dizzy,   
goddess from the blonde's grasp and setting her back on her feet.   
"Are you all right now?"  
Skuld nodded, still feeling a bit light-headed. "Yes, thank   
you, I'm Skuld. Pleased to meet you."  
Ami smiled. "It's nice to meet you too, Skuld. I'm Ami.   
Your sister tells us that you're a genius with anything mechanical.   
Maybe you can help me with my scooter later. It hasn't been   
running all that well." Ami knew that she could have taken it to   
Washu, but after seeing the results of the redhead's other 'repairs,'   
Ami thought it was much safer to use her scooter as is.  
"Sure!" Skuld said with a big smile, always eager to prove   
her talents.  
"Hi there, kid," Ranko told her with a friendly wave.  
"I am not a kid!" Skuld immediately shot back.  
"Whatever," Ranko replied, not seeming particularly   
concerned.  
Skuld fumed, but before she could say or do anything,   
Belldandy asked, "Did you fix Sana, Skuld?"  
"Of course!" Skuld told her older sister. "I had come out   
here to tell you that the operation was a complete success. I was   
able to remove the black box without any harm coming to the   
patient."  
"May we see her now, Skuld?" Rei asked.  
"Okay, you can come in now," the goddess of the Future   
said. "But you must be quiet. The patient is sleeping." Skuld even   
held her finger to her lips to illustrate, a gesture that Mihoshi   
copied and nodded in understanding.  
Soon they were all gathered around the small cot that Rei   
sometimes used when she was too involved in her experiments to   
use her normal bed. Sana looked much the same as they had seen   
her last, though she was now wearing a pair of overalls. Her hair   
was still tied up in the same double ponytail style, but everyone   
immediately noticed that her once blonde hair was now red,   
bordering on orange.  
Skuld noticed everyone noticing and explained with a   
nervous laugh. "Side-effect of the treatment, that's all. She's still   
perfectly fine."  
"Argh! I'm late for school!" Sana shouted suddenly, sitting   
up and throwing off the covers. "Wait, who are all of you?"  
Rei, being one of the few not shocked by the girl boomer's   
sudden activity, answered her. "We are the ones who rescued you,   
and want to help you live a normal life like any other child."  
Now everyone was snapped out of their shock by what Rei   
had said, or rather the deep emotion with which she had said it.   
Ami had to wonder about their leader's own childhood. She   
guessed that it hadn't been a happy, or at least a normal, one.  
Sana nodded slowly, as if unsure how to take this.  
"Allow me to introduce everyone. This is Ranko, Mihoshi,   
Ami, Skuld, Belldandy, and my brother Keiichi. My name is Rei."  
"Rei?" Sana repeated, seeming stunned at first, but then a   
huge smile broke on her face. Most took a step back as she leapt   
from her bed and threw her arms around Rei's neck, all the time   
shouting, "Rei-kun! Rei-kun! Rei-kun! I love you!"  
The previous shock had returned to the group ten-fold.  
"How sweet!" Mihoshi commented, not shocked in the   
least. "I didn't know little Sana would be so affectionate!"  
"I think the pint-sized surgeon scrambled her programming   
or something," Ranko muttered.  
"Did not!" Skuld immediately shouted back. "If anything, I   
made her better than before!"  
"Then why does she think Rei is a guy?" Ranko shot back.  
"You of all people--" Skuld started to say, but Belldandy   
suddenly blocked her mouth with a hand.  
"I'm sure that you did nothing wrong, Skuld," her older   
sister told her. "There must be some other explanation for her   
behavior."  
"There is," Ami spoke, finally getting over her own   
surprise. "The general told us that Sana was programmed using old   
girls' anime. I seem to remember that in one of the shows there   
was a guy named Rei whom the female lead was particularly   
attached to. The name must have triggered some sort of   
conditioned response in Sana."  
Ami chose not to mention that the only reason she   
remembered it was the fact that Usagi used to tease their friend and   
fellow senshi Rei about it for a long time. Rei was much more   
embarrassed by the sort of rumors that started as a result, however.  
Ayanami herself was stunned. She had no idea how to   
respond to the girl throwing so much affection at her. It oddly   
reminded her of the way Asuka used to act around Kaji. She had   
enough trouble dealing with Keiichi when he had become   
somewhat affectionate, but Sana was a whole other order of   
magnitude.  
Suddenly, Sana stopped. She glanced around briefly and   
said mostly to herself, "If Rei-kun is here, mamma must be here.   
Rei-kun, where is mamma?"  
Rei could only stare back. She still had no idea what to do   
or what to say.  
Sana started shaking her, tears beginning to form in her   
eyes. "Where is she, Rei-kun? Rei-kun, tell me. Tell me please!"  
The others could only watch, frozen with complete uncertainty as   
the small girl began to sob. What could they do? This girl had no   
mother, this was only something programmed into her.  
Belldandy stepped forward and slowly wrapped her arms   
around the sobbing girl. "Don't cry, Sana. Mamma is right here,"   
she whispered gently.  
Sana slowly turned around, her eyes wider and wider, until   
she turned to face Belldandy, who was currently kneeling so she   
could look at the girl eye to eye.  
"Mamma!" Sana shouted, hugging Belldandy closely, tears   
still flowing, but a smile on face now. "Do you love me, mamma?"  
For a few moments Belldandy only hugged the girl back in   
silence. "Of course, Sana," she said finally as tears began to spill   
from her own eyes. "Mamma will always love you."  
  
Rei decided that she and Ami should be the ones to deliver   
the black box to the USSD. Ranko was still in rough shape,   
despite her protests to the contrary, and the situation was a bit too   
delicate for Mihoshi.  
They took the bus in their hardsuits again, though it didn't   
seem to worry Ami as much as it had did last time. Actually, she   
still felt uncomfortable, but had realized the futility of explaining   
this to Rei.  
Rei gave the box to the general, he forwarded the payment   
to a named account, and they left. Easy as that.  
Neither noticed the small explosion that had just occurred   
where they had been five minutes ago as their bus drove away.  
  
While Belldandy and Keiichi prepared lunch, and Skuld   
poked around in Rei's workroom, Mihoshi was left to watch Sana.   
Keiichi had thought it a bit dangerous to put anyone in the   
somewhat clueless Knight Saber's care, but Belldandy was sure   
they'd be fine.  
Mihoshi stared somewhat nervously at Sana, unsure of   
what to do. No one had ever trusted her alone with the care of   
another person before, and she was painfully away of the total klutz   
that she could sometimes be. Well, there was her partner Kiyone,   
but that was more of a mutual thing. Well, actually she had to   
admit that Kiyone had taken more care of her than she had of   
Kiyone. But that was before...  
"Hi, I'm Mihoshi!" she greeted the little girl with a smile   
and wave. "I work for the Galaxy Pol... I mean, Ozaki Fitness."  
Sana immediately stood and declared, "I'm Karata Sana,   
age 14, and master of ... hey, haven't we already met before? You   
sound familiar. I sometimes forget faces, but I never forget a   
voice, but then if I did forget how would I know?"  
"We have met," Mihoshi replied. "I helped save you from   
those boomers."  
"Really?" Sana asked, scratching her head in puzzlement.   
"I don't remember. The last thing I remember before waking up   
is..." Sana sat down and frowned in thought.  
Mihoshi decided to do something when several minutes   
passed in silence. But what to do? What did girls like to do?   
What did she like to do as a girl? She immediately dismissed those   
that couldn't be done on Earth. Belldandy didn't want Sana leaving   
the apartment. Besides, Mihoshi had been temporarily banished to   
Earth for things she didn't want to think about at the moment...  
"Sana, let's watch some TV," Mihoshi told the girl. "Sailor   
V is on."  
"Yay! It's one of my favorite shows!" Sana enthused, and   
immediately forgot what she had been thinking about.  
They both made themselves comfortable on Rei's bed as   
they watched anime on her TV. Mihoshi shared some of the   
snacks she always kept handy. They even shouted out the   
transformation phrases and attacks together. It was the beginning   
of a beautiful friendship.  
  
Keiichi had some unpleasant news when Rei and Ami   
returned. "Sis, the USSD want to hire the Knight Sabers to get   
back the black box again."  
"What?" Ami shouted in surprise. "We just got back from   
there."  
"Yeah, apparently the black box was stolen right after you   
left. Just received a message that the general is willing to pay the   
same fee for the recovery of the box again."  
Mihoshi and Sana lay on Rei's bed, sharing a manga.   
Various toys and snacks lay scattered around them. Both were   
talking animatedly about what was going on in the manga. Rei's   
only reaction to this was one raised eyebrow.  
"They bonded while you were gone," Belldandy explained   
as she watched the pair. "They are kindred spirits in a sense. They   
were quite active before, but I managed to repair all of the   
damage."  
Not sure how to respond to this, Rei simply nodded, and   
lead Ami and Ranko to the kitchen where they could discuss their   
current problems without so much noise.  
Ranko was grinning. "I haven't even started to spend what   
we made on the last job, and we already have another." She had   
never cared that much about money, that is until she had to live on   
her own and pay for everything herself. Training dummies and a   
week's worth of groceries didn't come cheap.  
Some of their fees went towards hardsuit maintenance and   
other costs, like training all day at the paintball arena. Rei had also   
convinced Ranko to keep part of her cut in a savings account for   
something like college. Still, out of the original 10 million yen,   
there was still plenty left for expenses. She had no idea what to do   
with double that amount.  
Rei frowned slightly. "I dislike repeating myself. I also   
dislike the incompetence of the USSD in this matter. However, the   
money would be useful. The problem now is finding the black   
box. This time we have no leads."  
"Something happened during my shift that might be   
connected," Ami told them. "There was an explosion earlier today   
in a Genom laboratory. It ended up killing everyone working there   
and the cause of the explosion was never found. The really big   
thing is Goto had Rally close the case only a few hours later,   
declaring it an accident. I'm sure it was pressure from the higher   
ups that made him do it."  
"Rally?" Ranko said in surprise. "I think I know her. Ran   
into her twice in two days. I was getting a bit worried that she had   
found out I was a Knight Saber or something."  
"Oh?" queried Ami in surprise.  
"Yeah, I ran into her the first time when I went out to get   
the food. Turns out that she's a big fan of my music. We talked for   
a bit, though I was a bit nervous talking to an AD Police officer,   
when all of the sudden this purple-haired girl jumps out of the car   
and latches onto me!"  
"That's just Alielle," Ami explained. "She does that to just   
about every female she meets."  
"You too, Ami?" Ranko asked with some surprise.  
Ami nodded. "It didn't really bother me because I have a   
friend who's overly affectionate sometimes, though not so extreme,   
so I'm sort of used to it. I told Alielle firmly that I wasn't interested   
and she stopped bothering me. Well, she only stopped after the   
third time and she had found another girl who interested her more,   
but it still worked. I don't envy Rally having her as a partner   
though. I don't know why Goto just doesn't assign her to a guy."  
Ranko nodded, filing this information away for future use.   
"The second time was during that whole deal in Aqua City last   
night. After I... after I messed up, Rally showed up and helped me   
to safety."  
"Did she say or do anything that indicated she suspected   
your true identity, or the identity of any of the other Knight   
Sabers?" Rei asked.  
Ranko thought for a moment, then shook her head. "She   
didn't say or do anything like that."  
"Good, then you should be able to ask her about the   
incident earlier today without arousing suspicion," Rei told Ranko.   
"I believe there is a connection between this incident and the theft   
of the black box."  
"Why me?" Ranko asked in surprise.  
"Rally is likely to have information about this case not   
contained in ADP records. For Ami to take a sudden interest in   
this case would be suspicious. You can do so by simple curiosity   
and not cause people to wonder."  
Rei's stern expression was more convincing than her words.   
Ranko knew that there was no way out of this.  
  
"Rally," one of the other cops told her. "There's a call for   
you."  
Rally was not in the mood to answer the phone. She had   
just finished yelling at the chief about the incident from this   
morning being closed as an accident. Not that her yelling had done   
much good against Goto. Easier to talk to a boomer.  
Then there was that explosion at the USSD offices. They   
were passing that off as weapons malfunction, but she smelled a   
cover up. She was sure something had been stolen.  
Then there was the disk she had found at the crime scene.   
She supposed that she should have followed procedure and turned   
it in as evidence, but she knew that they'd just wipe it and she'd   
never find out what's on it. It was encrypted, but with the help of a   
friend in the US, she had managed to decode it. It contained   
nothing less than a portion of plans for a prototype super boomer.   
Rally was convinced that it was this new boomer that they had   
been building in the lab so late at night.  
She was also convinced that the incident at the USSD was   
connected to it somehow. She had no evidence for this, it was only   
a hunch, but Rally was the kind of person whose hunches often   
paid off. Goto was sticking her with paperwork though, so she   
couldn't follow it up.  
"Who is it?" Rally asked in irritation, not bothering to look   
up.  
"I don't know, some cute girl," the officer replied. "Said   
her name was Ranko or something."  
"Cute girl?" Alielle immediately stood up. "I'll answer it!"  
"No you won't," Rally told her, forcing her partner back   
into her seat. She still had to apologize for the last time Ranko had   
'met' Alielle. "You sit here and keep working on these reports."  
Alielle pouted, crossing her arms. "You just want to keep   
all the cute girls to yourself."  
  
"Rally speaking."  
"Um, hi," Ranko said nervously, wishing again that she   
hadn't mentioned that she had met the AD Police officer night   
before last. She still had no idea what to say. "Look, I--"  
"I wanted to apologize for the way my partner Alielle acted   
two nights ago," Rally said suddenly, not realizing that she had just   
cut the other girl off. "I kind of forgot at the time that she has a   
habit of going after anything female. I should have stopped her, or   
warned you, or something. It must have been a surprise to be   
suddenly embraced by another girl."  
*Not as much as you think,* Ranko thought. *Actually, the   
problem was it was a bit too familiar.*  
"Yeah," Ranko finally said. "But I still shouldn't have   
panicked the way I did and drove off like that. I was calling you up   
to apologize actually, and to see if you wanted to have lunch   
together to make up for it. I can talk about music and you can talk   
about your work. I've always wondered what its like to be in the   
AD Police."  
"Well, I'm overworked, underpaid, and use weapons older   
than me," Rally told her with a smirk while coming to a decision at   
the same time. She had so few friends in Mega-Tokyo as it was,   
there wasn't harm in making another. "Sounds good. Where do   
you want to eat?"  
They decided on a time and place and said their good-byes.  
  
Ranko was feeling a bit nervous about the whole thing,   
preparing to pump a potential friend for information, so she arrived   
at the café early, in order to give herself time to plan things out.   
The only problem was Rally was already there.  
They exchanged greetings and placed their orders, talking   
about unimportant things, but it wasn't long before the topic of   
conversation moved to the recent explosion at the Genom lab.   
Ranko thought it was almost too easy, Rally seemed very eager to   
talk about it.  
"Now what's really suspicious," Rally started to explain   
over desert, "is that a van was seen leaving from the loading dock   
right next to the lab not five minutes after it had exploded. It's my   
bet that whatever they had been working on in that lab survived the   
blast and was carted away to some secret location to be finished.   
Unfortunately, I have no idea where that van went after leaving   
Genom. But I'm also sure that whole business with the USSD was   
to cover a theft of some vital component to this project. Genom is   
building a super boomer."  
They spent a while arguing about who would pick up the   
tab. Ranko wanted to ease her guilt at pumping Rally for   
information, while Rally wanted to as an apology for the way her   
partner had acted.  
"All right, I'll let you pick this up," Rally finally said,   
offering her hand, "If you get me in free to your next gig."  
Ranko smiled and shook hands with the ADP officer. "It's   
a deal."  
  
Makoto looked over the city of Mega-Tokyo as the sun had   
set. He had sworn never to come here, preferring the peaceful   
country with his wife, his cat, and tinkering with the odd invention   
or two. His time in El Hazard had given him enough adventure to   
last a lifetime. He had come because of an old friend and an old   
enemy, but he hadn't come alone.  
Most people would have been startled when hands suddenly   
wrapped around them and a head rested on their shoulder, but   
Makoto only smiled, having become too used to his wife's odd   
ways.  
"I could find no sign of Jinnai or any Bugrom activity   
anywhere," Ifurita whispered in his ear. "I didn't get too close to   
the Genom Pryamid though. I didn't want to risk being detected."  
"You did the right thing, as always," Makoto replied.   
"We'll just have to wait until the meeting with Alielle. I only wish   
that we could have reached Miz or Mr. Fujisawa, but no one knows   
where they've gone to. I know you can match either of their   
powers, but it would be nice to have the extra help."  
"I agree. We don't know what sort of forces Jinnai could   
have access to here. That he's here at all suggests that he somehow   
managed to unlock the secrets of the Eye of God. You meet with   
Alielle and I'll patrol the city once more. You can call me if you   
need me. Ura will protect you until then, won't you Ura?"  
"It's my job," the cat in question told the both of them.  
"All right," Makoto said reluctantly. "Just be careful,   
okay?"  
Ifurita caressed his face affectionately. "Always, love."  
  
Alielle was already waiting in the cafe by the time that   
Makoto got there. She looked much the same as she had during   
their reunion three years ago, except now she was obviously   
extremely nervous about something. She was constantly taking   
sips of her coffee as she glanced out the window, jumping when   
Makoto took the seat opposite her.  
"It's good to see you again, Alielle," he told her with a   
smile, trying to set her at ease. There was once a time when he had   
found her more annoying than anything else, but that was before he   
had finally escaped El Hazard ten years go. She had proved herself   
then.  
"Likewise," Alliele replied absently, her eyes still   
wandering all over the room.  
Makoto glanced around. The cafe was nearly empty at this   
time of night, he counted only three other patrons. The street   
outside the big picture window was deserted. It was no real   
surprise, with the hard time he had finding the place. It was almost   
hidden away. "Is something wrong?"  
Alielle turned to look at him, her eyes blazing. She   
slammed down on coffee cup and practically shouted, "Jinnai is   
here making bugrom-based boomers, probably to take over the   
city, and you ask if something's wrong?!"  
"Calm down," Makoto told her, noticing that the other   
patrons were giving them odd looks. "Ifurita will be able to handle   
anything that he can dish out."  
Alielle shook her head, though she was calmer now. "I'm   
not so sure about that. You don't know what these things can do.   
The regular bug-boomers are like least ten times stronger than the   
bugrom were, but the advanced ones are even worse. My partner   
saw what just one did to Aqua City first-hand. What's left is telling   
enough. It was completely destroyed. I don't like thinking about   
what might have happened if the Knight Sabers hadn't been there   
to stop it."  
"Oh, so you have someone now?" Makoto asked her in a sly   
voice, noticing the word 'partner.' He was trying to lighten the   
mood. It was creepy for him to see Alielle acting deadly serious.  
Alielle blushed immediately. "I wish it was something like   
that. Rally is so strong, firm... but definitely not interested.   
Believe me, I've tried. I just met this other girl though that I have   
high hopes for. She's a bit young, but she's got red hair and... Hey,   
you changed the subject on me!"  
Makoto laughed to see her pout. "I just didn't like seeing   
you so serious. It really isn't you, Alielle. Leave being serious to   
me and Ifurita, okay?"  
Alielle smiled and seemed to relax. "Yeah, well, I'm   
usually not so serious. Being serious all the time would probably   
give me one of those 'ulcer' things. But all the time today I felt like   
I was being watched, like someone was observing my every move.   
But maybe I'm just being paranoid."  
Makoto nodded. "Yeah, I feel like that just being in the   
same place as Jinnai again. I expect him to appear at any moment   
and blame me for stubbing his toe or something."  
Alielle laughed. "He does seem to think you're responsible   
for everything that ever went wrong in his life."  
"Feeling better now?" Makoto asked with a smile.  
Alielle nodded.  
"Good. Let's get out of here. I'll walk you home. We can   
decide what to do about Jinnai and his bug-boomers on the way."  
  
They were only a few blocks from Alielle's apartment when   
a woman suddenly blocked their path. She had long blonde hair   
that covered half of her face and was wearing what looked to be a   
very stylized military inform.  
There was something about her aggressive stance and her   
smile that made Makoto immediately feel worried. He glanced   
around at the narrow, deserted street they were on and sucked in a   
breath. The perfect spot for an ambush.  
With a smirk, Panther slowly sauntered over to them. She   
ignored the man totally, concentrating on her target. The orders   
had finally come down that this woman was too great a risk to be   
left alive. It was strange that Mr. Jinnai had sounded so... reluctant   
to give the order. He had never been squeamish about this sort of   
thing before.  
Acting on instinct, Alielle drew her pistol and fired. She   
was disappointed, but not surprised, when the woman only flinched   
slightly. Still, Alielle fired again and again, but her hands were   
shaking so bad near the end of the clip that her final shots missed   
even though it was nearly point-blank range. The gun fell from her   
fingers when the boomer picked her up by the throat.  
Panther frowned slightly at the struggling woman as she   
applied pressure to the wind pipe, cutting off the girl's air. This   
was all too boring, especially after wasting her day following this   
girl around. Panther shrugged, thinking that it was better to just get   
it over with. She tightened her grip.  
Makoto had been stunned when the bullets had done   
nothing. He had been surprised at just how tough boomers really   
were. When she had started choking Alielle had snapped him out   
of it, though. He needed to do something and now. Even if he   
called Ifurita, there was no way that she could make it in time.  
"Stop!" he shouted, but the boomer ignored him. He   
reached out to try and pull her arm away, shocked when he felt...   
something when they had made contact. It was like a dozen   
conflicting feelings all mixed together, resulting in a terrible sense   
of confusion. He wasn't the only one. The boomer immediately   
dropped Alielle and turned to him in surprise.  
"Run!" he shouted at Alielle, who was struggling to get   
back her breath. She looked back at him uncertainly. "Just go!"  
Alielle nodded quickly and sprinted off, while Makoto   
turned to face the boomer.  
Panther's frown deepened. She couldn't believe she had let   
this man make her let her target escape, no matter what sort of trick   
he could do. Eyes burning with hatred, she stalked up to him. He   
would pay for interfering.  
Makoto was too late to shout a warning as Ura sprang at the   
boomer, who casually back-handed the cat into a nearby wall.  
"Ura!" he shouted, a mix of sadness and anger, not even   
realizing that the boomer was right next to him until she picked   
him up by the shirt.  
Matoko noticed the thing was smiling again, but it was   
twisted one, her eyes burning with a sick humor. "I don't want to   
waste any more time with you," she practically spat at him, before   
tossing him high in the air.  
Flying wasn't something new to Makoto, though he still   
wasn't quite used to it. The flight in Ifurita's arms all the way to   
Mega-Tokyo had left him in a near panic, even though he knew his   
wife would never let him come to harm.  
Falling, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.  
With one last glance up at the sky, Panther was off in   
pursuit of her target. She knew it had not gotten far.  
  
Rei made a quick excuse to the others about needing to go   
for a short walk before leaving the apartment behind, out into the   
cool night air and dimly lit streets. So far, all of their searches to   
find out where this super boomer could be built had turned up   
nothing. Genom was being very careful this time. Rei knew of   
someone who might have the answer she sought, however.  
In a deserted alley right next to a junkyard, a woman sat on   
a beaten up sofa, as if waiting for someone. Most of her features   
were lost in the darkness, but she was tall with long dark hair and   
an elegant cut to her clothes. Without a moment's hesitation, Rei   
took the seat next to her.  
"I'm impressed that you were able to save the boomer," the   
woman said. "I would have guessed that you would have handed   
her over to the USSD."  
"Perhaps you don't know me as well as you think," Rei   
replied in her normal neutral tone.  
"Perhaps," the woman agreed, not sounding as if she cared   
one way or the other, which seemed to be her normal tone.  
After a few moments of silence, the woman spoke again.   
"Your apartment has become crowded lately. So many visitors."  
"We've been able to manage."  
"I have a feeling that things are only going to get worse in   
that respect from now on. I'd look towards finding more space if I   
were you."  
Rei nodded, mentally filing that away for later   
consideration. This woman's advice was not to be disregarded.   
"Would you happen to know of the location of a lab where Genom   
could assemble a super boomer?"  
"I might."  
"What is your condition this time?"  
The woman turned to face Rei now, her voice and eyes   
serious. "The black box must be destroyed. It must not fall into   
anyone's hands, not even the USSD. They have already proven   
their inability to safe-guard it."  
Rei nodded. "It will be, I give you my word." While the   
money from the USSD would be useful, her first priority was to   
destroy the super boomer. Besides, Rei knew that her informant   
never made idle demands. If she said the black box had to be   
destroyed, then it was essential to do so.  
The woman leaned back to look up at the stars, letting her   
long hair fall around her shoulders. She quickly explained the lab's   
location and ways of getting information about its layout and   
defenses.  
Rei stood once again once the woman had fallen silent,   
absently straightening out her clothes.  
The woman faced her once again. She smiled slightly and   
said, "Until next time, Rei."  
Rei bowed slightly as the lights from a passing car washed   
over them, revealing green hair, purple eyes. "Be well, Setsuna."  
  
Ranko wandered the busy streets of Mega-Tokyo, looking   
for a place to eat. She had intended to go out as a guy, but fate had   
other ideas. After getting out of delivery duty, she left Rei's   
apartment and arrived back at her trailer. Out of which had   
stepped the male Ranma. Five minutes and the splash of a puddle   
later, Ranko had returned.  
Ranko was currently looking for a source of hot water and a   
discreet place to change, not willing to go back to her trailer and   
admit some sort of defeat. She caught the flash of purple hair as   
she had just turned her head and immediately flattened herself   
against a building. Could Shampoo have really found her in Mega-  
Tokyo? She had managed to track her all the way to Japan from   
China after all. But then she had already mistaken another girl for   
the purple-haired Amazon before. Of course that had been more   
than just the hair that was familiar.  
Ranko carefully peered around the corner to see a purple-  
haired woman who looked vaguely familiar being pursued by a   
blonde. The purple one had reached a dead end and the blonde was   
currently standing over her and cracking her knuckles. Sensing   
something bad was about to happen, Ranko stepped into the alley   
with them.  
Panther's grin was back as she watched her target looking   
up at her in fear. "I was going to make your death relatively   
painless, but you had to cause me some trouble. Now I'm going to   
beat you so badly that they'll have to check your DNA to identify   
the body."  
Panther threw her first punch and was surprised when a red   
blur streaked before her eyes. She was even more surprised when   
the only thing she hit was the building. She spun around to see a   
young redhead holding her target in her arms. The girl had to be   
another boomer, Panther reasoned, humans couldn't move that fast,   
but then why was she opposing the will of Genom?  
"Give the girl to me," Panther instructed. "It is my duty to   
dispose of her."  
"I don't really know what any of this is about," Ranko   
admitted. "But I don't like the idea of someone getting 'disposed   
of.'"  
"I am a cyber-boomer, you have to obey me!" Panther   
shouted. "It is the will of Genom."  
The cyber-boomers were created as the bodyguards to   
Quincy, and so normal boomers had to defer to them. She had   
been left to watch over things here while the others were with their   
master in Germany. That alone made her a bit more irritated than   
usual, and Panther wasn't exactly calm even in the best of   
circumstances.  
"I only take orders from one person, and she isn't you!"   
Ranko shot back, gently setting Alielle on the ground. "So I guess   
you're just going to have to fight me for her."  
"Very well," Panther replied with a smile. Fighting another   
boomer, even an inferior model, would be much more interesting   
than disposing of a mere human. Besides, this one had to be   
defective. It was her duty to destroy it.  
Neither noticed Alielle staring up at Ranko with something   
akin to awe.  
  
Makoto wasn't sure exactly when he stopped falling, he was   
yelling too much to care, but he was thankful that instead of   
smacking into the cold, hard street, a familiar pair of arms wrapped   
around him.  
"Ifurita," he breathed in relief.  
Ifurita smiled at her husband. "You shouldn't go flying   
without me. It's much too dangerous."  
Makoto smirked. "If I didn't know you better, I'd say that   
was a joke. But we don't have time for this. Alielle is the one who   
is in real danger. A boomer is trying to kill her."  
Ifurita nodded, suddenly all business. She picked up Ura   
and together they went off in search of their friend.  
They were shocked to find a redhead facing off against the   
boomer.  
"Shayla-Shayla is here too?" Makoto said in some surprise,   
squinting to make out the three people from their perch on top of   
the building.  
Ifurita shook her head. "No, it isn't her. Another   
Earthling."  
"What?" Makoto shouted in panic. "Quick, we have to do   
something! No normal human can stand up to a boomer!"  
Ifurita was expressionless as she stared down at the two   
combatants. "Things are not what they seem here."  
  
Panther tried to strike first, going for a blow that would   
have reduced the effectiveness of her opponent rather than ceasing   
to function out-right. She wanted this fight to last a little while at   
least. She hadn't expected her opponent to move quite so fast as   
she did, and so the kick to the stomach really wasn't something she   
had been expecting. It made her stagger, but caused no serious   
damage. Still, she would not underestimate her opponent again.  
Ranko was surprised and disappointed when the blonde   
woman didn't go down with her first blow. Not even a normal   
boomer could have taken a kick like that easily; this had to be an   
advanced model.  
Ranko's next thought was the wish that she had her suit   
with her. Then she frowned. She had gotten a little too used to   
fighting with it; she almost felt a part missing without it. She   
shook her head. Nonsense. She had fought a boomer before she   
had even gotten her hardsuit. She could do it again.  
Panther felt a surge of glee when her sweep knocked the   
other boomer to the ground, but was again disappointed when it   
rolled away before she could bring her fist down on its skull. She   
wondered why the other boomer had paused like that and also why   
it hadn't burst out of its skin yet, but chalked all this up to it   
malfunctioning. *The techs can sort out what was wrong after I   
reduce it to scrap.*  
Ranko nearly took a step away from the feral smile of her   
opponent. She thought herself one the greatest martial artists in the   
world, but did not like using her skills to cause pain and suffering.   
People that so obviously did disgusted her. This boomer didn't   
deserve Ranko holding anything back.  
"Kashu Tenchin Amaguriken!" Ranko shouted and her fists   
became a blur as she struck the boomer over and over again, a final   
punch sending it flying into the wall, where it lay unmoving.  
Head down, no one could see the build up of rage that was   
happening to Panther, shown so clearly on her face. She was well   
beyond angry that some common boomer, and a malfunctioning   
one at that, could get the better of her so easily. That last attack   
had hurt, and now she was through playing around.  
Ranko's hopes were dashed when the boomer stood up   
again, though she felt cheered by how slowly it was moving. Her   
attack had done some damage at least. The thing's one uncovered   
eye was horrible though. So cold and expressionless, as if it could   
stare right through her. It reminded Ranko of Rei whenever she   
was displeased with someone. It rooted her to the spot, like a   
butterfly pinned to a board.  
So Ranko was unprepared when Panther moved in like a   
blur and struck herself, not as many or as often as Ranko had, but   
each delivering much more power to it, punches that Ryoga even at   
his best couldn't match. What was worse was her female form   
didn't' have near the endurance that her male one had. Ranko hit   
the ground hard, spitting out a wad of blood.  
Panther wore a very satisfied smirk as she slowly walked   
over to where he opponent had landed. That had almost made up   
for the beating she had just taken. Almost. She noticed the blood   
and raised a single eyebrow in half surprise, half amusement. Was   
this girl human after all? In the end it didn't really matter to her,   
but it was still surprising to find that humans were not as frail as   
she had thought.  
  
Ranko smiled suddenly as she wrapped her arms around the   
surprised boomer's legs, knocking her to the ground and quickly   
following up with an elbow to the back. This boomer hit harder   
than Ryoga, but she had faced harder opponents than him and   
come out on top.  
Panther growled in anger as she managed to knock the girl   
away and get back on her feet. No ordinary girl could be able to   
hurt her like this, the redhead had to be some sort of cyborg, a mix   
of woman and boomer.  
Ranko was ready for the boomer when she charged again.   
She blocked what looked like a simple chop with her arms, only to   
scream in pain as the boomer's hand seemed to cut right into her   
flesh like a sharp knife. The pain didn't make her loose her focus   
however, and she was able to land a dozen or so chestnut punches   
to the boomers stomach with her other arm, knocking it away, but   
not off its feet.  
Panther licked her lips as she watched the blood slowly drip   
from the redhead's arm. This was the best fight she had in a long   
time. Only the other Saber Dolls could ever match her before and   
they weren't allowed to go all out against each other. The joy of   
battle numbed her to the pain. The only thing she felt now was   
eagerness for victory.  
Ranko quickly ripped off some of her shirt and tied it   
around her arm to stop the bleeding, the whole time ready for the   
boomer to attack, though it strangely seemed patient now, standing   
there waiting for Ranko to make the next move.  
Ranko thought of one move that might be very effective in   
this situation, though wasn't sure exactly how it would work   
against a boomer. If it could end this match quickly though, it was   
worth a try. Had to get the boomer angry though.  
"I didn't know they made tomboy boomers!" Ranko   
shouted. "You must be some kind of out-dated model all slow and   
clunky like that. My fridge puts up a better fight that you do!"  
Panther only blinked back at the girl in confusion.  
Ranko frowned, it obviously wasn't working. "Whoever   
designed you must have been blind! I've seen better looking   
boomers without their skin! Bet you wear your hair like that   
because the other half of your face is even uglier, though I don't   
know how that's possible! But at least you have a personality to go   
with that face!"  
Panther ground her teeth in anger. How dare this girl make   
fun of her appearance or her personality, she was designed by her   
master himself.  
Ranko grinned to see that she had scored a hit with that last   
one, but still wasn't nearly enough. If this was going to work, she   
needed the boomer to be really mad. "Are you sure you're   
supposed to be a woman, star face? You look like some kind of   
flat-chested, thick thighed girl man to me!" Then Ranko began to   
sing, "You look like crap, you fake girl boomer. You're so homely   
you only come out at night. You're ugly, ugly, ugly!"  
"That's it!" Panther shouted as she charged, hands ready to   
slice this irritating girl to ribbons.  
Ranko had learned her lesson though, and was able to avoid   
those deadly hands for the most part as she drew her opponent into   
a tighter and tight spiral. She had to take a few minor hits to avoid   
falling out of step, but it was worth it when she was finally done.  
Panther leapt into the air, shouting wordlessly as she   
brought both arms down, aiming for Ranko's head.  
Ranko smirked as she brought her fist up and shouted,   
"Hiryu Shoten Ha!"  
A huge gust of wind suddenly swirled around the both of   
them, ruffling Ranko's hair and sending Panther flying up and   
away.  
Ranko smiled as she glanced around to find no sign of the   
boomer. That blast had been pretty powerful, could have sent half   
way across Mega-Tokyo.  
She had only a second's warning that caused her to glance   
up, but it was too late. Panther had sprung from her hiding place   
among the darkened buildings, aimed right for Ranko's chest. She   
hit the girl feet first with the force of an express train, creating a   
creator where she had knocked her to the ground.  
Panther wasn't nearly done. The fun had worn off rather   
quickly after that last little surprise. She struck the unmoving   
redhead again and again, finally ending it by picking up the girl and   
bodyslamming her to the ground, deepening the crater she had   
already made.  
Panther took a step back from the bloody mess and   
considered what to do next. The girl was still alive somehow, but   
she wouldn't be for long.  
  
"Are we going to do something now?!" Makoto asked his   
wife in a panic as the boomer moved closer and closer to the   
downed girl. It was surprising what the redhead could do, but she   
looked to be finished.  
Ifurita moved to intercede, but stopped suddenly and   
frowned. "I'm sensing something... something dangerous."  
"Of course there's something dangerous, that girl is going to   
be killed!" Makoto shouted, wondering if Ifurita still didn't   
understand the concept of mortality.  
"Not from the boomer. From the girl."  
"From the girl?" Makoto repeated in surprise as he turned   
to look down at what was happening below once again.  
  
Ranko felt like hell. She compared to how she had felt last   
night and this definitely came out worse. She tried to compare this   
to any experiences in the past and this still came out worse. Of   
course, she was experiencing this pain now, while the others were   
just a memory.  
Her body was a mess, sending her so many signals of pain   
that it created a strange sort of numbness, but she knew that she'd   
be lucky if she escape this one without permanent injury. Several   
of her ribs broken, others bruised. Her left arm definitely was as   
well, and her right didn't feel that good either. Her legs were like   
two big bruises, though thankfully no bones broken there, though   
she had twisted one of her ankles when the boomer had knocked   
her down. Which one she wasn't sure.  
What was worse was she could see the shadow of the   
boomer coming closer and closer to her. Ranko couldn't believe it,   
after all that she had been though in her life, to die like this, in   
some back alley somewhere, downed by some nameless boomer   
that she should have been able to defeat. She had gotten too soft   
with the hard-suit, and now she was paying the price.  
Worst of all was Ranko felt like she had failed everyone,   
not just herself. Her pop, who, despite his selfish ways, had spent   
a lifetime training her in martial arts. Rei, who had taken a kid   
without direction and gave her a way to help people. Even the girl   
she had just tried to rescue. She had failed them all.  
And one other. Ranko could almost see her face in his   
mind's eye as he reached out to it, the image becoming dimmer and   
dimmer, the smile fading. A smile she would never see again.  
  
Panther took a step back when the redhead began to glow   
with a sickly green light. She had to wonder if this was a boomer   
after all, and this was some terrible new weapon she hadn't yet   
heard about.  
The figure stood slowly, clutching her stomach with one   
hand, though there was no sign on her face of whatever pain she   
may be suffering. Her eyes were dead, her face slack. An aura of   
depression hung about her that was nearly as eerie as the green   
glow, which only grew brighter and brighter.  
Panther could only stare as the free hand came up and   
pointed at her, the girl suddenly shouting, "Shi Shi Hokodan!"  
Panther didn't even notice that she had been sent flying   
again as the hungry green flames ate away at her body. She   
screamed as darkness overwhelmed her.  
  
Ranko smiled slightly to see the boomer up in the sky,   
streaking like a green comet, growing smaller and smaller. That is   
until the pain hit her again, and again, coming in waves that   
brought her to her knees. There was a lot of blood in her mouth   
now and spots before her eyes. She thought that at least she had   
saved the girl, but found no comfort in that. It only made her feel   
empty. She would never see the others again.  
"Akane," Ranko whispered, lying on the ground, her eyes   
finally closing.  
  
Ifurita knelt and examined the redhead while Makoto   
attempted to calm the nearly hysterical Alielle. "The girl is alive,   
but she requires immediate medical attention. I will take her to the   
nearest hospital. You must get Alielle to her apartment quickly.   
She should be safer there."  
Makoto nodded and helped to lead Alielle away while   
Ifurita gently picked Ranko up and took off towards the sky again.  
  
Ami watched almost mesmerized as Rei methodically   
paced up and down her bedroom, always traveling the same   
distance, a small frown on her face.  
Rei had come back from her walk renewed and was able to   
locate the secret lab in the matter of minutes. It always seemed   
when they needed to know something, Rei would go for a walk and   
come back with just the answer they were looking for. Ami   
thought that there was something a bit suspicious about that, but   
didn't want to risk the trust Rei had placed in her by following her   
or anything. Now it was time for the Knight Sabers to spring into   
action. The only problem was one of their number was missing.  
Ranko didn't answer her phone at her trailer, nor was she   
responding to her pager. That was very unlike her. It could be   
something innocent, but she could be in trouble. Either way, the   
Knight Sabers didn't have time to spare. They had to destroy this   
new boomer before it was finished. They hoped that it hadn't been   
completed already.  
"I could go in her place," Belldandy offered, not noticing   
Keiichi's sudden look of horror. "I have fought with demons on   
occasion."  
Rei studied her closely, her red eyes making even the   
goddess shrink back a bit. "You're too tall to fit into Ranko's hard-  
suit and it would take too long to refit it to accommodate you.   
Whatever powers you may possess as a goddess, I will not risk you   
going out to face a boomer without one."  
"I'll do it!" Sana said suddenly. "I'll teach that demon   
boomer with my Cossack kung-fu!" Sana proceeded to give them   
all a demonstration, twirling around the room like a top gone out of   
control.  
"No, I won't let you!" Belldandy shouted, wrapping her   
arms around the girl boomer.  
Embraced by a goddess, not even Sana could argue.  
"I guess we'll just have to go out one short," Ami declared,   
trying to sound optimistic, though inside she was a bit worried.   
"And I'm sure that Ranko is just in the middle of eating or   
something."  
"Ranko can take care of herself," Rei stated, though   
whether to reassure them or herself was unclear. "We will simply   
have to do with without her."  
"Okay," Keiichi said, standing up suddenly, "I'll get the   
truck ready."  
Belldandy was about to protest, but Rei cut her off, saying,   
"We won't be taking the truck this time. The motoriods should be   
more than sufficient transportation."  
Keiichi frowned. His sister's overprotective instincts were   
getting the better of her again. She occasionally seemed to forget   
that he wasn't a child anymore that needed to be sheltered from the   
dangers of the world. He knew that it was dangerous, but he wasn't   
about to let his big sister go out there without backup and put   
herself at even more risk than she already was.  
"We both know that isn't true. If you go out in just the   
motoriods, Genom is going to know about it almost immediately   
and they'll throw every boomer they can in your way until the super   
boomer is completed. You have to take the truck, and I have to   
drive it," Keiichi told Rei firmly.  
"All right," Rei agreed suddenly.  
Keiichi blinked. She had never given in that easily before.  
"Very well, I'm going with you," Belldandy said suddenly.   
She realized that quickly that this was important to Keiichi and she   
shouldn't even try to talk him out of if, not matter how dangerous it   
is. But that didn't mean she was willing to let him march right into   
danger unprotected.  
"No, you can't!" Keiichi replied immediately.  
"Why can't I, Keiichi?" she asked. "As a goddess, I've had   
to face many dangers in the past. Besides, I want to be with you."  
Keiichi realized that she had a point. He'd be in much more   
danger that she would be, and it wasn't like he didn't want to be   
with her either, but it was just that... with her there, he'd knew that   
he would worry. Even if his head knew she was in no real danger,   
that knowledge didn't quite reach his heart. And if he spent all his   
time worrying about her, he might make a mistake, and if he did   
make a mistake, then they really would be in danger.  
Seized with a sudden inspiration, he told her, "Wait, you   
can't go with me. You have to watch Sana."  
Belldandy looked down at the girl who, suddenly sprang up   
and said, "You don't have to worry about me, Mamma! If a burglar   
snuck in here, I'd demonstrate my croquet technique I learned from   
Komarrai!"  
Sana decided to demonstrate this by chasing Mihoshi all   
over the apartment with a croquet mallet she had found   
somewhere. The blonde Knight Saber was all too eager to assist in   
this demonstration by running around without looking where she   
was going, knocking over things in the process.  
After the teen-age goddess had finally chased after and   
caught Sana before she could cause more damage, she had to agree   
that Keiichi had a point. "All right, I do have to stay and watch   
Sana," she told him as he began to smile. "Skuld can go with you."  
"Big sister," Skuld whined, "I don't want to have to sit so   
close to the hentai! I just know he'll try something perverted! He   
looks like the type that goes after young girls."  
"For the last time," Keiichi said through clenched teeth.   
"My name is _Keiichi_ _Ayanmai_, not _Ecchi_ _Hentai_. And   
you walked in on _me_ when I was taking a bath. Have you got   
that?"  
Skuld embraced Belldandy in fear. "Do you see, big sister?   
I can't go with him, he'll be so mean to me!"  
"Skuld?" Belldandy asked pleasantly.  
Skuld looked up. "Yes, big sister?"  
"Keiichi means a lot to me. Would you please watch out   
for him, for my sake?"  
Every protest or dodge Skuld could think of died on her lips   
as she looked up into her sister's kind and caring eyes. "Oh, all   
right," she finally said, reluctantly.  
"Thank you, Skuld."  
Skuld muttered under her breath as she let go of her sister   
and walked over to Keiichi. "All right, let's get going," she told   
him, not sounding pleased at all.  
Keiichi had a feeling that it was going to be a long night.  



	4. Default Chapter Title

The Neon Knight Sabers  
(A NGE / Oh My Goddess! / Sailor Moon / Tenchi Muyo / Ranma   
One Half / Gunsmith Cats / El-Hazard / Bubblegum Crisis /   
kitchen sink Crossover)  
By Ammadeau  
Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org  
http://Ammadeau.tripod.com/fanfiction.htm  
  
***  
  
Ami glanced at her the other two sabers as she suited up.   
Neither of were acting differently, despite the fact that they were   
one short. Mihoshi was just as carefree as ever, almost as if she   
didn't realize that she was about to go out and risk her life. Rei   
was cold and methodical, perhaps even more so than usual.  
Ami was practically shaking as she suited up. The incident   
at Aqua City had gotten to her more than she cared to admit. Sure,   
she had faced beings that could destroy the world in her time as a   
senshi, but none were quite as frightening as that... bug thing.   
Well, there was the last enemy they had faced, the one they had to   
give up their powers to imprison, but even then she had faith that   
somehow Sailor Moon would win. There was no magic to count   
on this time, only their skill and their suits.  
It wasn't like Ami lacked faith in Rei and Mihoshi, though   
the latter often worried her, it was just that Ranko was their best   
fighter and they were going to face something that could be even   
worse than that boomer at Aqua City without her.  
The sudden clank of Mihoshi tripping over in her hardsuit   
as she tried to get into the truck snapped Ami out of her thoughts.  
"I've got a really bad feeling about this," Ami muttered to   
herself as she helped Mihoshi aboard.  
  
Program 4: The Super Bug-Boomer  
  
"Let me make this clear from the start that I'm only doing   
this because my sister asked me to," Skuld told Keiichi from the   
passenger seat as they started up the truck. She was frowning, with   
her arms crossed. "And if you touch me just once with those ecchi   
hands of yours, I will not be responsible for the consequences."  
"Why do you keeping thinking that of me, I already   
explained about --"  
"Your name and the bath, I know," Skuld interrupted   
shortly.  
"Then why do you keep insisting that I'm some kind of   
pervert?" Keiichi asked in exasperation.  
"What other kind of guy would force my sister to be his   
girlfriend?"  
Keiichi turned his head back to the road and didn't reply.   
What could he say? The past couple of days had been the best in   
his life, but he couldn't deny what Skuld had said. It would be   
different if he had asked Belldandy to be his girlfriend, though he   
doubted that even if he could get up the courage, a goddess like her   
would willingly agree to spend her time with him. But instead he   
wished for her to be made his girlfriend, never giving her a choice   
in the matter.  
Keiichi shook his head when he realized that he had let his   
attention slip so badly that they had nearly swerved off the road.   
He had to help his big sister now. There would be time to think   
about it later.  
  
Ifurita sat patiently by the young girl's bedside after the   
doctors had finished patching her up. She had already learned a   
number of things about the redhead who had saved Alielle's life.  
The ID in her wallet had identified her as Ranko Tenno.   
She apparently had a rare medical condition that made hot water   
hazardous to her health, which had been printed clearly on the   
medical card she carried. One of the interns had recognized her as   
the lead singer of a band called 'Ranko and the Replicants.' The   
two doctors who had overseen her treatment had been much more   
talkative about the girl's previous injuries, some of which looked to   
be only a day or so old. It was clear to them that this girl must   
have a long history of fighting, beginning when she was quite   
young. Her body was almost covered with small scars.  
None of this explained how the girl could throw punches so   
fast that her hands nearly became a blur for even Ifurita's eyes, nor   
did it answer how she had been able to glow green. Humans, in the   
demon god's experience, never possessed that sort of power   
unaided.  
Ranko had yet to wake up, but the doctors were unworried.   
The patient's condition was stable, though she was suffering from   
extreme exhaustion along with her extensive injuries. They even   
suggested that Ifurita come back in the morning, since it was   
unlikely that the redhead would wake until then. Ifurita waited   
anyway, having no need to sleep.  
Ifurita continued to study the girl as she slept on. The   
comparison to Shayla-Shayla seemed to go deeper than just red   
hair. This was another girl who was very active when awake,   
always on the move doing something, acting out in some way,   
things always had to be big, fast, but when asleep, her face relaxed,   
and she was as quiet and peaceful as a child.  
"Do I miss her?" Ifurita asked herself with a little surprise,   
thinking of the fire priestess which she had seen only briefly in ten   
years. She had known her mostly as an enemy, but Makoto,   
Alielle, and Miz had mentioned her often, that the demon god felt   
some vague feeling for never having really known her. "Perhaps I   
do."  
"You do what, Ifurita?" Makoto asked as he walked   
through the door, Alielle a step behind him.  
"Nothing," her wife told him, shaking her head. "Why did   
you bring her here? She's still in danger."  
"She insisted on coming. She actually threatened to have   
me arrested if I tried to stop her. We came here in disguise and   
were pretty careful about our route, so were okay."  
Alielle had heard none of this, as she had rushed right over   
to Ranko's side as soon as she had seen her. She hovered over her   
like a worried mother, doting on every sign of injury as if the pain   
were partly her own. She also reached out a few times to touch,   
and would pull away just before making contact, her face flushed.  
Even with her injuries, Ranko was breath-takingly beautiful   
to Alielle, and what was more, she had saved her life. Alielle   
would have to find a way to pay her back somehow, pay her back   
in full.  
"Besides, we've got a bigger problem than Alielle's safety   
right now. Alielle got word from her partner that Genom is   
assembling a super bugrom-based boomer in a secret lab. If Jinnai   
is allowed to finish it..."  
"I know," Ifurita said, seeing the concern on her husband's   
face. "But I can't just leave the two of you here unprotected."  
Makoto smiled reassuringly. "We'll be fine. I doubt even   
Jinnai would be bold enough to try something in the middle of a   
hospital. Besides, all his concentration will be on finishing his   
latest creation. You have to stop him, Ifurita, or everyone will be   
in danger."  
Ifurita nodded. "You are right as always, Makoto." She   
reached out to caress his face, and smile forming on her lips as he   
began to blush.  
"I'll protect Makoto," Ura piped up. "I won't fail this time."  
Ifurita looked down at the cat with a grateful smile. "Thank   
you, Ura." She glanced back at Makoto once more, an   
understanding passing between them that needed no words to   
communicate. Then she was gone.  
Makoto sighed, and was surprised when a hand landed on   
his shoulder. He looked up into the unusually-serious eyes of   
Alielle.  
"She'll be all right. That jerk Jinnai hasn't cooked up   
something yet that she hasn't been able to handle. Besides, I think   
this time she's going to have help."  
"Who, the AD Police?"  
"Nope, someone much, much better," Alielle told him with   
a smile. "The Knight Sabers."  
Neither noticed as Ranko groaned and turned in her sleep.  
  
Despite the precautions they had taken, the Knight Sabers   
found that company awaited them at the entrance to Genom's secret   
lab. A small army of boomers, lead by a few bug-boomers that   
towered above them, guarded the entrance. Tapping into a feed   
from a spy satellite, Ami could see that all other ways into the   
facility were similarly guarded. Besides, there wasn't time to use   
any alternate entrance. They had no way on knowing how close   
Genom was to completing the super-boomer. They had a feeling   
that they would know right away when it was finally done.  
"What's the plan, Rei?" she asked her leader.  
Rei thought for a few moments, studying the image of the   
boomers on the screen. "We'll rush at them in our motoriods and   
try to take as many as we can by surprise. Mihoshi and myself will   
keep the rest busy while you go past them and do what you can to   
stop or delay the completion of the super-boomer prototype."  
Ami nodded, and did her best not to frown. She knew that   
Rei had only chosen her as the one to go on because she was the   
weakest fighter of the group. She could find no fault in her leader's   
plan, however.  
Luckily, the boomers were taken by surprise. Rei and Ami   
both managed to destroy a few before they had the chance to react.   
Mihoshi even managed to take out one of the bug-boomers by   
somehow throwing her motoriod over her shoulder, sheer weight of   
it knocking the head of the bug-boomer right off of its shoulders.  
The confusion that that incident caused among the boomers   
was all the distraction Ami needed. She flew right past them in her   
motoroid, hoping that Rei and Mihoshi would be able to keep those   
boomers from following her, and that no other boomers awaited   
her inside.  
  
Jinnai sipped at his wine and smiled. His greatest creation,   
the super bug-boomer, stood before him, hulking and menacing. It   
was nearly complete now, the technicians only had to finish adding   
the little black box and do the final adjustments.  
There was only one thought that caused him to frown   
slightly. Panther had yet to report in. It was unlike her to go this   
long without some kind a report. No matter, even if Alielle had   
some clue as to what he was up to, it was already too late.  
Jinnai was even more annoyed when a loud beeping began   
to sound, along with the much flashing of red lights. "What is   
going on?" he demanded.  
"Sir, someone seems to have broken into the laboratory   
complex," on of the techs told him nervously.  
"I have boomers guarding every possible entrance, how   
could this be? Bring the security feeds up on this monitor."  
The tech did as he was told, flipping past images of groups   
of boomers standing at attention, until he stopped at one where   
what was left of that boomer force were currently battling with two   
armored women.  
"The Knight Sabers," Jinnai said through gritted teeth, "but   
they're a bit too late to interfere with my plans. In fact, they should   
prove an interesting test for my new boomer. Wait, there's four of   
them. Punch up the interior feeds!"  
The tech did as he was told, stopping at the image of   
another armored woman flying down the halls, heading straight in   
their direction. He flipped through all the other cameras, but there   
was no sign of a fourth Knight Saber.  
Jinnai ordered half of his personal guard of bug-boomers to   
guard the not yet finished super boomer with their lives, while he   
sent the other half after the intruder.  
"Why not pull some of the boomers off the entrances that   
aren't being attacked?" one of the techs suggestion.  
"No," Jinnai replied after a moment of thought. "A fourth   
Knight Saber is still out there somewhere. Besides, they should be   
more than enough to delay these pests until my creation is   
complete."  
  
Rei glanced around. Her and Mihoshi were almost done   
there. Only a few of the bug-boomers remained, but they were   
running out of time. She got the feeling that the super boomer was   
very close to completion now.  
"Mihoshi, go and assist Ami. I'll hold the rest of them off."  
Saber-Black nodded and moved to enter the lab complex,   
only to have one of the bug-boomers blocking her path. Mihoshi   
couldn't stop her motoriod in time and slammed right into the bug-  
boomer, picking it up along for the ride. The change in weight sent   
her motoroid completely out of control, ending with them   
slamming forcefully into a wall.  
Mihoshi managed to pry herself out of the resulting tangled   
mess. The bug-boomer had been destroyed in the crash, but her   
motoriod was also a total wreck. Her hardsuit seemed undamaged   
though. With a shrug, she flew down the hall after Ami.  
  
Ami was having problems of her own. She had hacked into   
Genom's computer network and snatched detailed schematics for   
the lab, using them to lead her to the main lab where she guessed   
the super boomer was being built. She was only meters away from   
her goal, when the path was blocked by three bug-boomers.  
They would have towered over her if she had just been in   
her harsuit. The motoriod made up for some difference in height,   
but they were still impressively large, constructed of bulbous armor   
with disproportionately small arms and legs.  
Ami snapped off a shot at one with her motoroid's cannon,   
aiming for the chest, and hoping to take at least one out before they   
started their attack. She was surprised when the bug-boomer   
dodged the shot completely. They were big, but also fast. Ami   
gritted her teeth and closed in on them, so they wouldn't have the   
room to dodge. This was not going to be easy.  
  
Ranko felt as if she was pulling herself out of a warm, dark   
sea. Light stabbed at her eyes as her eyelids fluttered open.   
"Wha?" she managed to slur out.  
"Oh, you're finally awake!" enthused a vaguely purple blur   
to her right.  
Ranko winced at the tone. Her head hurt like she's been   
using it to practice the breaking point with. Mouth dry, tongue felt   
bloated. That was all she could feel though; the rest of her body   
was numb, like it was still asleep. Painkillers, she guessed, being   
somewhat familiar with them.  
"Not so loud, Alielle," another, more brownish blur, said in   
a softer, though still painful, tone.  
"Sorry," the other blur muttered.  
"I'll get a doctor. You stay and watch over her," the brown   
blur said and left what Ranko was now assuming to be a hospital   
room.  
Her vision began to clear up a bit, though the light was still   
painfully bright. White walls of a hospital room stared back at her,   
along with a purple-haired woman that sat quite close on her right.   
Close enough that Ranko could tell that this wasn't Shampoo,   
though her vision was still somewhat blurry.  
The next moment, everything clicked together for Ranko.   
This was the woman who she had saved from that psycho blonde   
boomer that had attacked her. It had been that same boomer that   
had given Ranko the injuries that put her into the hospital, though   
she assumed that the Shi Shi Hadoken had taken care of the   
boomer, or neither her or the purple-haired woman would have   
been left alive.  
"Are you all right?" the woman asked very tentatively.  
Ranko thought this was a very silly question under the   
circumstances. Would she be lying all bandaged up on a hospital   
bed if she were all right? Still, Ranko understood what the woman   
had meant. Not really able to say anything coherent yet, she   
nodded her head.  
The woman smiled and seemed to lose some, though not   
all, of her previous nervousness. "I'm glad."  
Ranko's eyes went a little wide when the woman slowly   
slipped her hand into hers, but unable to move her body at all, there   
was little she could do about it. Alielle was too busy faintly   
blushing and looking down with some embarrassment to notice   
Ranko's reaction.  
"Can I get you anything?" Alielle suddenly asked after   
recovering from her act, though her hand still gripped Ranko's   
loosely. "Water? Food? Do you need to use the bathroom?"  
*What I want is for you to let go of my hand,* Ranko   
thought in irritation. *What if someone walked in and saw that?*   
But all she could manage to do was shake her head.  
They sat in silence for a while. Ranko decided to close her   
eyes so the light wouldn't hurt quite so much. Besides, it made it   
much easier to ignore that this strange woman was still holding her   
hand.  
"Thank you," Alielle said after a time, her voice serious.   
"Thank you for saving my life."  
Ranko tried to gesture that it was no big deal, though it was   
hard when she could only move her head.  
Whether she understood the gesture or not, Alielle   
continued on. "I never would have dreamed that I'd be rescued by   
such a beautiful girl."  
Ranko's eyes snapped open and she stared at the woman   
next to her with something akin to horror. The woman stared back   
with a sort of hungry look not unlike those Shampoo had given   
from time to time, a very intent look. If Ranko could have moved   
at that moment, she would have run out of that hospital room so   
fast that the chestnut fist would seem slow by comparison.  
Ranko was a bit panicked when other people entered the   
room, though relaxed when he saw that the woman had finally   
taken her hand away from hers. The people didn't look like they   
had seen anything funny going on.  
A man had entered the room, which Ranko guessed was the   
one from before, followed by a male doctor and a female one. The   
doctors immediately rushed over to her to carefully check over her   
injuries. Ranko wasn't exactly happy with them poking and   
prodding her, especially close to certain areas. She especially   
didn't like the purple-haired woman's stare as certain areas were   
uncovered. By the time their examination was finished, Ranko's   
face was flushed in embarrassment.  
"Well, miss," the male doctor told her. "You're in   
astonishingly good health, considering the circumstances. I've   
never seen anyone with the ability to heal as quickly as you do."  
"It could be that a lifetime of injury has built up her   
resistance to them. It's like her body is so used to getting damaged,   
that at the first sign of it, it slips into a sort of overdrive."  
The two doctors wandered away from Ranko and began to   
discuss the finer points of her accelerated healing, most of which   
went right over the heads of the others present.  
"I'm glad to see that you're okay," Makoto said to Ranko.  
"Thanks," Ranko managed to croak out, noticing that some   
feeling was gradually returning to the rest of her body. "But who   
are you?"  
Makoto laughed a bit nervously. "My name is Makoto. I'm   
a friend of Alielle's. I saw the fight, and wished I had done   
something so you wouldn't have ended up this hurt."  
Ranko looked him over and shook her head. "You're not a   
martial artist, are you? Nothing you could have done, unless you   
were carrying some really big gun with you or something."  
Makoto shook his head, though it didn't do much to ease his   
conscience. He might not have been able to do much, but he'd   
been with someone who could have. If he'd been a little more   
persuasive with Ifurita, perhaps Ranko wouldn't be in the hospital   
right now. He still didn't understand why she hadn't done anything.  
Ranko picked up on his guilt. "Don't worry about this. I've   
had worse. Even been in a full-body cast a few times."  
"But you still got these injuries because of me," Alielle   
practically purred. "I simply must make it up to you."  
Ranko blinked and swallowed nervously. Alielle had was   
practically sitting on the bed now, leaning over so Ranko could   
have a clear view of her cleavage, which the dress she wore   
seemed made to show off.  
"No, no, you don't have to do anything," Ranko replied   
nervously. "It's the duty of a martial artist to help those in need."  
"Oh, but I must!" Alielle insisted in a sultry voice,   
bouncing suddenly, giving her assets a good shake. "I must find   
some way to... reward you for what you've done for me."  
"Now that you're awake," Makoto interrupted, as much for   
his own sake as Ranko's, "is there anyone you need to call? You've   
been unconscious for hours now."  
"Yeah, that's right!" Ranko practically shouted, grabbing   
any chance to stop this strange woman.  
Makoto handed Ranko a phone, while Alielle crossed her   
arms and pouted. *Everything was going so well,* she thought.   
*I had her right where I wanted her. Why did he have to butt in?*  
  
Mihoshi wasn't very good with directions, even with   
Keiichi telling her which way to go. She was easily confused by   
all the twisting passageways, especially at the speed in which she   
flew through them. She also had an annoying tendency, at least for   
Keiichi, to confuse left from right, or not pay attention to what he   
was saying.  
"No, I said right, right!" Keiichi shouted at her, following   
her progress on the map on his screen. "Great, now you have to go   
back again. Why can't you get a single direction right?"  
Normally, he wasn't the sort of person to complain, but he   
had a lot on his mind now, and Mihoshi seemed to be acting even   
more like an air-head than usual.  
"I'm trying my best," Mihoshi simpered.  
"Keiichi just likes to boss women around," Skuld said   
suddenly, practically shoving Keiichi out of the way. "I'll guide   
you from now on, Mihoshi."  
"Ah, thanks," Mihoshi replied, having no idea what was   
going on.  
  
With Skuld guiding her on with growing irritation, Mihoshi   
finally caught up with Ami, who was a little too busy at the   
moment fighting two bug-boomers at once to notice her arrival.   
Her motoriod lay beside her, a twisted heap of metal, but near it   
was also the remains of one of the bug-boomers.  
She obviously hadn't been idle with the others. They were   
covered with small scars of damage, but they still attacked her   
relentlessly. Ami was, however, in even worse shape. There were   
deep gouges criss-crossing the chest of her armor, her jetpack was   
smashed, and she was favoring her right leg.  
One of the bug-boomers tried to drive it's fist through her   
back while she was busy with the other, only to have its hand   
suddenly caught in a vice-like grip. It was knocked off balance   
when monofiliment whips sliced off that arm, and so wasn't at all   
prepared for the powered kick that struck its mid-section a moment   
later, knocking it into the wall, hard.  
Ami blinked in surprise as the normally-clumsy Mihoshi   
seemed to... flow. She could find no other word for it. Saber-  
Black was moving like water, striking again and again, like the tide   
breaking on the shore, never giving the bug-boomer the chance to   
fight back. It wasn't long before the two remaining bug-boomers   
ceased to function.  
"Wow, Mihoshi," Ami said to her in a voice bordering on   
awe. "That was incredible."  
"Wasn't it?" Mihoshi replied cheerfully as she hopped over   
to Ami, and then tripped on the remains of the motoriod.  
Ami groaned. And she thought Rei was difficult to figure   
out.  
  
"Ayanami residence, Belldandy speaking," Ranko heard   
after a few rings.  
Ranko was a little surprised that Rei or Keiichi hadn't   
answered the phone. Had the goddess taken over every duty of   
their household? "Belldandy," she said somewhat hesitantly, "It's   
Ranko."  
"Ranko-san!" the goddess nearly shouted. "Where have   
you been? Everyone was worried."  
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Ranko told her, embarrassed.   
"I sort of had a run-in with a boomer and ended up in the hospital,   
but I'm fine now. Can I talk to Rei?"  
"I'm afraid Rei-san isn't here at the moment. She and the   
others had some... business to attend to."  
Ranko muttered a few unladylike curses under her breath as   
what Belldandy had said sunk in. The other Knight Sabers had to   
go off without her because she was too busy picking fights with   
random boomers in back alleys. Okay, so she ended up doing a   
good deed and saved a stranger's life, but now her friends were at   
risk. She also couldn't help thinking that if she had been a little   
more attentive and careful, she could have dealt with the boomer   
without having to wind up in the hospital.  
"All right," Ranko said finally. "Just tell them that I'm   
okay. Don't mention that I'm in the hospital or anything. They   
probably have enough to worry about now."  
"I'll do that."  
Ranko exchanged good-byes with Belldandy and hung up   
the phone with a sigh. She tried to sit up, but her body was still   
mostly numb and she flopped back down on the bed. This   
immediately brought the attention of the doctors back to her.  
"No, miss, you mustn't get up," one said.  
"Yes," the other agreed. "You may heal remarkably fast,   
but you'll still need to stay here for a few days at least. In fact, you   
should probably try and get some rest right now."  
Ranko didn't see how she'd be able to rest knowing that her   
friends were out there risking their lives at that very moment, but   
still there wasn't much she could do about that in her condition.   
Besides, that meant that that woman 'Alielle' would have to leave   
her alone.  
"I guess you're right," Ranko told the doctors as she made   
herself comfortable again.  
The doctors nodded and gently hustled Makoto and Alielle   
out of the room. The latter shouted back just before she left, "I'll   
see you again first thing in the morning, Ranko!"  
Ranko groaned and desperately tried to think of a way to   
leave the hospital before morning came.  
  
"Keiichi?" Belldandy asked on the Knight Saber channel.  
"Belldandy?" Keiichi asked, surprised that she was calling.   
"Is there a problem? Are you all right?"  
"I'm fine, Keiichi. I just wanted you to tell the others that I   
just got a call from Ranko. She's fine, but... she can't leave where   
she is at the moment."  
Now Keiichi was confused. "Where is she then?"  
Belldandy was silent for a few moments. Ranko had told   
her not to mention the hospital, but as a goddess she couldn't lie.   
"She's in a place for sick people. She's okay, but the doctors are   
making her stay overnight."  
"A hospital?"  
"Yes," Belldandy replied, feeling a bit guilty in getting   
around her promise that way. "Can you please tell the others?   
Ranko asked me to, but she doesn't want them to worry."  
They said their good-byes and Keiichi relayed the message   
to the rest of the Knight Sabers.  
  
Mihoshi managed to carry Ami as they flew through the lab   
complex. It was a strain on her jetpack, but quicker than walking.   
Besides, with Ami practically pulling Mihoshi in the right   
direction, they made fewer wrong turns. It wasn't long before they   
had reached the entrance to the main lab.  
Three more bug-boomers stood before the towering steel   
doors. They made no move to attack, but it was obvious that they   
weren't going to let anyone by without a fight.  
Ami let go of Mihoshi and stood shakily on her own. She   
knew that she was in no condition to fight. The melee with those   
other three bug-boomers had taken just about everything she had.   
Standing was hard enough with the way her body ached. Besides,   
her suit couldn't stand much more damage.  
Still, they had to stop them from finishing the super   
boomer, and she couldn't let Mihoshi face these monsters alone.  
"Okay, here's the plan," Ami said after taking a few deep   
breaths. "Mihoshi, you come up with a distraction that will draw   
them away from the door. While you keep them occupied, I'll go   
on and destroy the super boomer."  
"Distraction?" Mihoshi asked, scratching her helmet with   
her gauntleted hand. "What should I do, Ami?"  
Ami thought for a moment, looking all around her, until her   
eyes settled on a stack of shipping crates they were standing next   
to. "Just throw those boxes at them until they start to attack you.   
Now you don't need to fight them, just keep them busy. There's no   
reason to get yourself hurt."  
Mihoshi nodded seriously.  
  
The bug-boomers had been ordered to block the doors and   
let no one pass them. They were generally quite good at following   
simple orders like this, so when they saw the two Knight Sabers   
enter the loading area before them, they made no move to attack or   
otherwise leave their post. They only kept their eyes on the   
hardsuits, expecting an attack at any moment.  
What they did not expect was a packing crate to fly through   
the air to smash against one of their heads. The cheap crates did no   
damage to their armored exterior, but they were annoying,   
especially when a dozen more followed in rapid succession.  
"Can't get me stupid bugs!" Mihoshi taunted them as she   
heaved boxes in their direction. "Nya, nya!"  
Bug-boomers are machines, but machines quite capable of   
getting angry. One had already reached it's boiling point and   
started to make its way to the offensive Knight Saber when the   
hand of one of his fellows landed on its shoulder. They proceeded   
to talk out a course of action, trying to ignore the crates that   
continuously struck them.  
All the while, Ami clung to the shadows and waited,   
getting more impatient with each minute that passed, knowing that   
Genom was growing closer and closer to its goal.  
  
Mihoshi was happy when the bug-boomers finally started   
paying attention, but was disappointed when only one slowly made   
its way to her, leaving the two others to still block the door.  
"Help me, Skuld, Keiichi," she radioed back to the truck as   
she continued to throw boxes at the two bug-boomers still blocking   
the door way, yet who now seemed perfectly content to ignore her.  
"Calm down, Mihoshi," Keiichi told her in his most level   
voice. "Just give me a minute to think of something."  
Then he turned to his passenger and asked, "Skuld, do you   
have any ideas?"  
Skuld crossed her arms, her face creased in thought. "Well,   
I could easily build something to help her if we had the parts and   
time, but we just don't. If only Rei wasn't stuck still dealing with   
those boomers at the door, she could go help them."  
Keiichi blinked in surprise. "That's it, Skuld!" he shouted   
as he started up the truck again.  
"What's it?" the goddess of the future asked him. "What   
are you doing?"  
He favored her with a confident grin. "Hold on tight.   
We're going to help Rei."  
"How?"  
Keiichi didn't respond, instead he stomped on the   
accelerator, causing the truck to shudder as it quickly sped up.  
Skuld's eyes widened as the realization hit. "You don't   
mean?"  
"If you have a better idea, I'd like to hear it," Keiichi told   
her. "Because we're almost out of time."  
Skuld opened her mouth, but then stared at Keiichi looking   
straight ahead, a determined look in his eyes. She closed her   
mouth and said seriously, "Let's do this."  
  
Rei couldn't believe how persistent these boomers were   
being. They attacked relentlessly, sometimes even getting in each   
other's way to attack her. She had already sacrificed her motoriod   
in an attempt to escape them, destroying several, but they had been   
quick enough to catch up with her. After their initial surprise, they   
were ready for anything.  
"Big sis!" Keiichi suddenly shouted over the   
communicator. "We're coming to bail you out, so get ready to grab   
on!"  
Rei spun around in surprise, and then had to move quickly   
to duck a punch from a bug-boomer. "What are you talking about,   
Keiichi?"  
And then she heard it. The heavy hum of a fast-moving   
truck headed directly for her. "This is much too dangerous. You   
must turn back now."  
Keiichi shook his head, even though he knew she couldn't   
see it. "We don't have time to discuss this, sis. The others are in   
trouble and you've got to go help them now. Besides, I have a   
goddess riding shotgun. Nothing is going to go wrong. Right,   
Skuld?"  
Skuld looked up at Keiichi's smile and nodded   
immediately, remembering someone else's smile from earlier that   
night. "Right!" she declared confidently, while thinking, *I will   
watch out for him, big sister. Just like I promised.*  
  
Rei had no choice. She had to put her faith in that the   
goddess could protect them both because she knew by his tone of   
voice that there was no way her brother was going to back down   
from this. He was like Shinji that way; most of the time he was   
easy-going, but when he was determined to do something nothing   
could shake his resolve.  
"Now!" Keiichi shouted.  
Rei leapt up in the air just as the speeding truck bore down   
upon them, landing on the roof. The boomers hadn't been that   
lucky. The majority of them were either smashed or run over. The   
few that remained were too bewildered to follow.  
  
The bug-boomer had thought itself more than enough to   
deal with one Knight Saber, but it had yet to encounter the   
incredible power of Mihoshi. She pivoted as it charged, leaving   
one foot out for it to conveniently trip over and fly head-first into   
the pile of remaining boxes.  
Mihoshi did not use this opportunity to attack. She had   
been first told by Ami to keep the boomer occupied and not get   
drawn into any fights. Keiichi had told her that help was on the   
way and she should just keep the bug-boomer busy. So that's   
exactly what she did.  
"Nya, nya, you can't get me, ugly bug!" she shouted.  
The bug-boomer burst out of the pile, seething in anger, and   
charged after her again. Mihoshi ran and ran. The bug-boomer   
was just about to catch her, it even lunged out to grab her, when   
Mihoshi suddenly ducked and it went head first into a steel wall.  
Hearing the other two bug-boomers muttering loudly,   
Mihoshi turned to them and waved. She was disappointed when   
they decided to stay at their posts, however.  
  
Mihoshi was getting tired of the chase, and she was also   
running out of room to run. The bug-boomer had figured her out   
somewhat and was now able to anticipate her actions. She tripped   
again, and then looked up to see the bug-boomer standing over her,   
ready to bring it's fist down...  
And then suddenly it was gone. Mihoshi blinked in   
surprise to see a large truck now standing where the bug-boomer   
had just been. She still hadn't gotten over her shock when Rei   
leapt down from the top of the truck and helped her to her feet.  
"Rei!" Ami shouted in relief, emerging from her nearby   
hiding place. She had been readying herself to come to Mihoshi's   
rescue, even if it meant getting more hurt herself, when the truck   
had come barreling along.  
Rei carefully looked Ami over. "Wait in the truck," she   
told her. "Your suit is in no condition to fight in. Have Keiichi   
help you treat your injuries."  
"But..."  
"That was not a suggestion."  
Ami bowed her head. "Yes, Rei," she said, boarding the   
truck. She knew that it was probably suicide for the two of them to   
go against the super boomer alone, but she had to admit that there   
wasn't much she could do in a fight at the moment, other than be a   
liability.  
Rei glanced at the two bug-boomers who still blocked the   
doors to the lab, then turned to face Mihoshi. "You take the one on   
the left, I'll take the one on the right."  
Mihoshi nodded.  
But before either of them could do anything, a mocking   
voice suddenly rang out from the speakers mounted in the room.   
"Ah, the infamous Knight Sabers. So I finally meet my new   
nemesis... nemesi?... whatever in person. I must say it was very   
impressive the way you handled my bug-boomers tonight. I will   
have to save the security tapes as a memorial to you efforts in   
helping me perfect my creation."  
"Who are you?" Rei asked.  
"My name isn't important, though I will soon be known to   
Mega-Tokyo, and from there the world, as Lord Jinnai, ruler over   
all I survey. Unfortunately, you won't live to see it as I have   
decided to let you be the test run for my ultimate creation, the   
super bug-boomer!"  
With that, the massive doors to the lab slowly creaked   
open, the light revealing a red, hulking figure beyond. It was twice   
as large as the bug-boomers who began to inch back into the lab to   
get out of it's way. The floor shook slightly as it took a step, its six   
ruby-red eyes scanning the room as it ponderously made its   
entrance. It had the same thick, bulbous armor of the other bug-  
boomers, but it's arms and legs were as thick as tree trucks, and it's   
large head rested on it's squat, hunched-over body.  
"Your sacrifice here will not be in vain," the mocking voice   
continued. "I'm sure that this battle will point out all the small   
design flaws that I've missed, so please take your time to die,   
because this time you haven't a chance of wining."  
And with that, the super bug-boomer began its attack.  
  
"Skuld, you have to do something!" Keiichi begged the   
goddess, still staring in horror at the completed super bug-boomer.   
"There's no way they can beat that thing alone!"  
Skuld shrunk down into herself, and said in a small voice,   
"I'm not good at magic. I'm only good at building and fixing   
things."  
"But can't you--?" Keiichi stopped when a hand landed on   
his shoulder. He looked up at Ami, who was battered and bruised;   
her eyes tired, but hard with determination.  
"There's nothing Skuld can do now," Ami told him, even   
her voice sounding weary. "We just have to have faith that Rei and   
Mihoshi can beat that thing."  
"You think I can't help because I'm a little girl?" Skuld   
snapped, a frown set on her face.  
Ami took a step back in surprise. "That's not what I --"  
Skuld pushed past her before she could finish, heading for   
the lockers where the suits were stored. Following her curiously,   
Ami and Keiichi saw the young goddess stop before the locker   
where Ranko's suit still hung. She peered up at the hardsuit in   
silence for some moments.  
"There's no way that will fit you, Skuld," Ami told her.  
With surprising strength, Skuld took down the suit from its   
resting place and threw it down on the work table in the middle of   
the room. "It won't, yet," Skuld replied and got to work.  
  
Rei quickly unloaded Ranko's motoriod from the truck and   
put it on. They would need every advantage they could get.  
"Mihoshi," she called to her fellow Saber. "Try to keep it   
distracted while I line up my shot."  
"Right," the blonde replied, suddenly taking to the air,   
dodging the blasts from the super boomer while jumping from   
beam to beam on the high ceiling. Someone other than Rei might   
have wondered why Mihoshi only seemed to have perfect balance   
when she needed to.  
Rei lined up the motoriod's cannon with the thing's head   
and then fired, but when the smoke cleared, she realized that the   
thing had managed to dodge most of the blast, only taking a few   
scratches. And it was now looking in her direction.  
  
"Back up the truck, now!" suddenly came over the truck's   
speakers, in Rei's voice.  
Having rarely heard his sister raise her voice, much less   
shout, Keiichi dove for the driver's seat and floored it into reverse,   
just in time to see a bright light completely destroy the spot that the   
truck had been resting on moments ago.  
"What the hell was that?!" he shouted, blinking away the   
sudden near-blindness.  
"The super boomer has been equipped with the black box,"   
Rei explained calmly, though she sounded as if the breath had just   
been knocked out of her. "It has control of the USSD satellites   
platforms. I want you to drive the truck out of the laboratory   
complex. I believe it's attack radius for the satellites is limited to   
line of sight."  
"No way!" Keiichi replied immediately. "There's no way   
I'm going to just leave you and Mihoshi here, especially if that   
thing can do that."  
"You have to take Ami, Skuld, and yourself to safety," Rei   
told him. "The hardsuits are manuavable enough to avoid the   
satellite attacks, the truck is not. We will be fine, Keiichi."  
"All right, I'll do it, big sister," Keiichi said, not believing   
his sister's words. They were in danger, serious danger, and he   
wasn't about to leave them there alone. He backed up the truck   
around a corner and went to check the condition of the other   
passengers.  
  
Ami was pulling herself into a chair, and looking like she   
was having a rough time of it. She must have been hurt worse than   
Keiichi had previously thought. But when he moved to help her,   
she waved his hand away and said, "Help Skuld."  
Skuld was buried under Ranko's hardsuit. Keiichi strained,   
but was just barely able to lift it off of her and get it back on the   
table. He was pleased to see that besides a bit dirty, Skuld was all   
right, having caught the hardsuit as it had fallen. She looked up at   
him in surprise, before finally saying, "Thanks."  
Keiichi smiled. "You're welcome."  
Ami looked a bit sheepish. "I tried to lift it off her, but--"  
Seeing the fresh blood that marked the leg of Ami's plug-  
suit, he immediately broke out the first aid kit, ignoring all her   
protests. He gasped at the sight of the large gash when he gently   
pulled back the leg of the suit. It was still bleeding.  
"Why didn't you say that you were this badly hurt?" he   
asked her.  
Ami was a bit embarrassed. "I guess that with the super   
boomer and all I didn't think it was that important. I'm more used   
to patching others up than patching up myself."  
Keiichi did his best to clean out the wound, ignoring Ami's   
small gasps as he applied the disinfectant. Then he very carefully   
bandaged it up and searched her for signs of other injuries that   
needed taken care of, feeling very relieved when Ami assured him   
that most of her body had survived without a scratch and it was her   
arms and legs that needed attending to. Keiichi had never really   
been interested in Ami, but she was still definitely a woman.  
He had just finished taking care of Ami, when Skuld   
suddenly shouted, "I've done it. I'm a genius!"  
They both blinked when the goddess walked over to them   
wearing Ranko's hardsuit, the helmet slung under her arm.   
Somehow Skuld seemed to have grown a few inches, though her   
face didn't look any older.  
"But how?" Keiichi asked. "The suit doesn't look any   
different."  
Skuld smiled. "Simple, Keiichi. Since it would have taken   
too long to adjust the suit to fit me, I adjusted myself to fit with my   
own Mr. Exoskeleton Mk2!"  
"Do you have any idea what's she's talking about?" Keiichi   
stage whispered to Ami.  
Ami shook her head. "Not a clue."  
"You two just can't appreciate my genius," Skuld   
complained, putting the helmet on. "What matters is it works."  
Just before she could leave the truck, Keiichi grabbed her   
hand. "Are you sure you're going to be okay out there, Skuld?" He   
knew his sister needed all the help that she could get, but he didn't   
like the idea of putting Belldandy's little sister in danger either.  
Skuld gave him a thumbs up. "Everything will be fine.   
Trust me."  
And as soon as she left the truck, she tripped and landed   
flat on her face.  
Keiichi could only shake his head and hope for the best.  
  
Rei was using a rare pause in the fight to take a few deep   
breaths. She had sacrificed the motoriod in a gambit to destroy the   
super boomer, but it had been only partially successful. The self-  
destruct had taken two arms (the boomer had four) and a chunk out   
of its chest, but it was still moving. What was worse, the super   
boomer still controlled the killer satellites. She waited for the next   
attack to come, while trying to come up with a plan of her own.  
The super boomer used the satellite again, this time   
targeting Mihoshi. Thankfully, all it managed to do was put   
another hole in the ceiling. Rei blinked in surprise when she   
suddenly saw a strange-looking sphere fly threw the air, only to   
explode against the head of the super boomer, sending it staggering   
back. Rei turned to face Saber-Red.  
"Ranko, I thought you were still in the hospital?" Rei asked,   
her surprise not showing in her voice.  
Instead of replying, Saber-Red pressed her advantage   
against the super boomer by knocking it into a wall with a flying   
shoulder strike, though the force of the collision sent her staggering   
back as well.  
"That isn't Ranko, sis," Keiichi explained. "Skuld found   
some way to adjust the hardsuit to fit her."  
"Grr, I told you I didn't do anything to the hardsuit. I'm   
simply wearing a exoskeleton to make up for the height   
difference," the young goddess explained.  
"Skuld, this is much too dangerous," Rei replied to her.   
"Even if you have adjusted the suit to fit you, you have no prior   
battle experience. Return to the truck immediately."  
"What do you mean? I have plenty of experience squashing   
bugs. Besides, It looks like this one is down for the count already."  
"Skuld, move!" Rei shouted, her instincts screaming   
danger.  
The new Saber-Red only looked back at her puzzled.  
Rei ran, but Skuld was too far from her, she'd never make it   
in time. "Mihoshi!" she shouted.  
Saber-Black blurred, picking up Saber-Red under one arm   
as the deadly light of the attack satellite incinerated the spot where   
Skuld had been standing. They had cut it too close, and they were   
both sent slamming into the wall by the force of the explosion,   
Mihoshi flipping around to take most of the force on herself.  
Skuld blinked awake to find herself being cradled   
protectively in the armored arms of the blonde Knight Saber, who   
sat there unmoving. She couldn't believe that the ditzy girl who   
had been so annoying at Rei's apartment had actually saved her.  
"Mihoshi!" Skuld shouted, shaking Saber-Black to get   
some reaction. "Wake up, Mihoshi!"  
"It's no use," Rei told her calmly. "The force of the blast   
must have knocked her out. The suit will have protected her from   
serious injury, however. She will be fine."  
"But--!" Skuld shouted as she turned away from Mihoshi,   
tears starting to form in her eyes.  
"Skuld!" Rei barked in command. "Leave her be. We must   
destroy the super boomer. There is no time for excess emotion."  
"Yes, Rei," Skuld answered, her voice heavy in her throat.   
She wished she wasn't wearing a helmet so she could wipe away   
her tears. It irritated her to feel them slowly drip down her cheeks.  
As Skuld made her way to Rei's side, the super bug-boomer   
slowly stood up again. It was in rough shape. It only had one   
working arm remaining, and one of it's legs was throwing off a   
shower of sparks from a deep gash. The chest was pitted with the   
marks of weapon's fire, especially on the right where a whole   
section was missing. The head was crumpled like a old tin can and   
several of it's eyes had shattered. It staggered towards them like a   
dying man.  
  
"Lord Jinnai," one of the techs said to him in a voice that   
was nearly shaking with fear. "The super boomer is losing! We   
have to flee here immediately!"  
Jinnai, however, was still calm. "I must admit that the   
Knight Sabers have proven far more resourceful than I gave them   
credit for. Self-destructing that motoroid of theirs was a clever   
stratagem, as well as holding back their fourth member to launch a   
surprise attack. Obviously, the thing I neglected to realize before   
was the ability of brains to conquer brawn. I should have known   
better, considering my own genius. I suppose my next project   
should be to try to instill my level of brain power into a boomer."  
"But what about now?" the tech insisted. "We're all going   
to be killed!"  
"Calm yourself," Jinnai replied with a small smile. "The   
super boomer still retains control of the Eye of... I mean USSD's   
satellites, and that is a weapon that the Knight Sabers can not hope   
to match."  
  
Rei was out of ammo and she knew Skuld was close to   
being so as well. They had managed to damage the super boomer   
further, but it refused to stay down, and they were quickly running   
out of ways to stop it. Staying at a distance was no good, with no   
ammo they couldn't do it any harm while it could attack with the   
satellites. Getting up close was better, but also very risky. The   
super boomer might only have one functioning arm, but it was   
much stronger than their hardsuits, and could move quicker than it   
looked, even heavily damaged as it was.  
That was when a figure slowly descended through one of   
the holes in the roof. She had grey hair and pale skin, dressed in   
odd clothes, and holding and even odder staff. She regarded Rei   
with calm eyes.  
Rei couldn't help taking a step back. *Could she be   
another?* she thought, feeling an old fear welling up inside of her.   
*An angel?*  
"Forgive me for being late," the woman spoke, her voice as   
calm as her eyes.  
Before Rei could say anything, the satellite weapon struck   
again, turning the spot where the woman stood into a ball of fire.   
Rei gasped, uncertain if she felt sadness and relief.  
"Particle beam satellite," the woman said, floating in the air   
next to the spot she had stood, her clothes not even singed. Her   
voice dripped with disdain. "How futile."  
She raised her staff at the super bug-boomer, light   
beginning to gather on the prongs that jutted out of that end.  
"Aim for the upper chest," Rei instructed, guessing this   
woman's intent. "That is the most logical place for the central   
computer and the satellite control mechanism."  
The woman nodded, adjusting her aim accordingly. The   
super bug-boomer tried to reach out for her, but it was too late as a   
sudden bolt of energy, like a miniature version of the killer   
satellites, struck it, completely annihilating most of its upper torso.   
The remains of the boomer fell to the ground, unmoving, no more   
than a collection of damaged parts now.  
As the woman turned to leave, Rei asked, "Who are you?"  
The woman turned back, her expression neutral. "My name   
is Ifurita. I thank you for your efforts here today, but I have   
someone who I must speak to."  
And with that, she flew past the large steel doors and into   
the heart of the lab from which the super bug-boomer had first   
emerged.  
Rei consider following her, but shook her head. Her team   
was in no shape to risk another confrontation with even a normal   
boomer at the moment. It was time to go home.  
  
Jinnai launched into a string of obscenities that made his   
bug-boomer driver blush. This was the second time having neared   
victory, only to have it snatched out of his hands by that demon   
bitch. What was worse, her appearance guaranteed that his   
ultimate rival and enemy, Makoto, was lurking nearby, no doubt   
readying himself to foil his brilliant schemes yet again.  
Jinnai had no one but himself to blame, however. He knew   
that it had been a bad idea not to kill that woman Alielle on sight,   
but still he had hesitated, and now he had paid the price. But it was   
too late for blame now, with Makoto about he would have to work   
in much more subtle and secret ways from now on.  
It was time to return home; to rest, to think, and to plan.  
  
Rei tip-toed back into the apartment, carrying a sleeping   
Ami in her arms. Her hard fights combined with her injuries had   
worn the woman out, causing her to doze off during the ride home.   
Knowing that she needed sleep to recover, Rei thought it best not   
to wake her. Thankfully, Mihoshi had woken up on her own and   
elected to go home, since Rei was running out of room to put   
people up for the night.  
She slowly walked down the hall to the second guestroom.   
Belldandy had been given the first. Rei blinked as it occurred to   
her that the lights were on, but there was no sign of the goddess of   
the present, nor of the Sana-boomer. After gently laying Ami   
down in bed and tucking her in, Rei decided to investigate.  
She opened the door to the first guestroom, careful not to   
make a sound. From the dim light of the hallway she could see   
Belldandy circled up in her bed, already fast asleep, and Sana held   
protectively in her arms. Rei carefully shut the door, smiling   
slightly.  
"Is it all right to come up now, sis?" Keiichi asked when he   
saw Rei return to the garage.  
Rei nodded. "Yes, but you must be quiet. Belldandy and   
Sana are sleeping, as well as Ami."  
Rei, Keiichi, and Skuld walked up the stairs back to the   
apartment, the latter two taking exaggerated care in being quiet.  
"Rei-san," Skuld whispered, stifling a yawn. "Where am I   
going to sleep?"  
Rei frowned a bit. She had originally planned on giving   
Skuld the second guestroom to share with Sana, but she had put   
Ami in there without thinking about it and knew it was a bad idea   
to move her now.  
She ended up sharing her large bed with Skuld, which was   
fine for the night, but wouldn't do for a permanent guest. Setsuna   
had been right about her problem with house guests.  
  
"I can't believe how late it is," Makoto thought out loud as   
he glanced up at the clock, stifling a yawn. He waiting in the hotel   
room for the return of his wife. Ura had already fallen asleep. He   
felt like he had walked Alielle home hours ago, but it couldn't have   
been more than an hour since they had left the hospital.  
Still, he couldn't help but worry. Ifurita was powerful, he   
knew that better than anyone, but it had been a long time since she   
had to fight anything approaching her level, and whatever Jinnai   
had cooked up this time, it had to be dangerous. The fact that he   
was back on Earth proved that. That should have been impossible.   
Makoto might even have to return to El Hazard to check on what   
had transpired since their last visit three years ago.  
Feeling a cool wind caress his cheek, Makoto turned to find   
Ifurita standing on the balcony, waiting for him. His fatigue   
seemed to vanish instantly as he rushed over to her and held her   
close.  
"Is something wrong, husband?" she asked.  
"I was just a bit worried about you," he admitted with a   
smile.  
"You shouldn't have. The super boomer was not nearly as   
dangerous as I was lead to believe, and I also had the aid of two   
armored women."  
"The Knight Sabers, Alielle told me about them," Makoto   
said as he lead his wife back into the room and shut the sliding   
glass doors. He was starting to shiver from the cold, not that   
Ifurita had this problem.  
The demon goddess nodded and took a seat on the bed   
beside her husband. "The super boomer was nearly destroyed   
when I arrived, thanks to their efforts. I was able to finish it off   
quickly."  
"What about Jinnai?"  
"I searched for him after his creation had been destroyed,   
but all I could find were signs of his hasty departure. I could track   
him down and--"  
"No," Makoto told her, shaking his head. "He probably has   
an entire army of boomers to protect him, and I don't want you   
getting hurt just over a chance to finally stop him. Besides..."  
"...he was your friend once, and you still hope to reform   
him," Ifurita completed his thought.  
Makoto shrugged helplessly. "I know it's probably hopeless   
to get him to change at this point, but he wasn't always the way he   
is now. I just can't give up on him."  
"I would not be here," Ifurita told him, running her fingers   
through his hair, "if you gave up on people easily."  
Makoto turned to look up at her, blushing a bit, while his   
hand blindly groped for the light switch and flicked it off.  
  
Ranko yawned and opened her eyes, stretching under the   
golden sunlight that filtered in from a half-shuttered window. The   
nurse smiled as she turned away from straightening a bouquet of   
violets by her beside.  
"Feeling better now?" the nurse inquired.  
Ranko nodded. "Much better."  
"These violets were sent to your room, but whoever sent   
them didn't include a card. Looks like you've got yourself a secret   
admirer."  
Ranko shook her head, guessing that either Ami or possibly   
Belldandy had sent them. Rei didn't really believe in the value of   
flowers, and she didn't think Mihoshi would consider it.  
"Oh, well, I suppose what's important now is the fact that   
you're awake. Would you like breakfast now?"  
Ranko nodded enthusiastically. Having never had the   
chance to have dinner, she was starving.  
The nurse giggled a bit at the girl's antics. "Okay, I'll be   
right back with your meal. But do you need help going to the   
bathroom first?"  
Ranko shook her head no nearly as violently as she had just   
nodded yes. It was hard enough to go the bathroom in girl form,   
she didn't want help.  
With a departing laugh, the nurse left.  
Ranko glanced at the clock. Still early, but Rei might be up   
already, that is if she had survived. No, best not to even think   
about it. Rei was nearly the equal to Ryoga in strength and   
endurance, while Mihoshi had more luck than a whole field of four   
leaf clovers. In several ways, they resembled extremes, but Ami   
would be there to keep them balanced. And on top of that, they   
had their hardsuits which were alone tougher than even those new   
bug-boomers they had faced recently. Whatever the situation was,   
Ranko felt confident that her fellow Knight Sabers had handled it,   
even without her there to back them up.  
Ranko smiled suddenly, twirling one of the violets in one   
hand. "Besides," she thought out loud. "If they weren't okay, they   
wouldn't have thought of sending me these flowers."  
Then Ranko had no more time for thought because her   
breakfast had arrived. The food was bland almost to the point of   
tastelessness, though it wasn't quite as bad as the time she had   
eaten Rei's cooking. Still, they were nice about more servings.   
After finishing off four meals right after each other, Ranko leant   
back with a contented sigh.  
  
Ranko's first visitor of the day was a complete surprise.  
"How you feeling, kid?" Rally asked as she took a chair   
next to the bed.  
Ranko smiled up at the ADP detective. "Sore all over, like   
a mountain fell on me. How did you know I was here?"  
"Partner tried to stick me with filing one of her reports   
again. Before I shoved it back to her, I noticed your name on it so I   
decided to pop and get your statement, and check up on how you   
were doing. What made you think you could take on a boomer   
unarmed?"  
Ranko shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."  
"Take my advice and leave dealing with rogue boomers   
from now with the professionals, okay?"  
The redhead wondering if being a Knight Saber counted as   
a 'professional'. "Hey, I won, didn't I?"  
"Yeah, barely. Next time you might not be so lucky.   
You're as bad as that Knight Saber I ran into a few nights ago. No   
idea when to quit. At least she had the sense not to go after   
boomers without a hardsuit to back her up."  
Ranko blushed a bit in embarrassment, but was afraid to   
speak and give away the fact that she had been that Knight Saber.   
Then she frowned suddenly, and looked at her fully bandaged   
hands in resignation.  
"Something wrong?" Rally asked her.  
"I've got an itch," Ranko explained after a moment, and   
then lifted up her arms each in full casts so she couldn't so much as   
wiggle a finger. "And I can't reach it with these."  
"I could scratch it for you," the detective offered.  
"No, that's okay," Ranko replied nervously as she frowned   
and hoped the irritation would go away, but it only seemed to get   
stronger.  
"Just tell me where it is," Rally told her. "You saved my   
partner's life last night, it's the least I can do for you."  
Ranko was silent for a few moments before she sighed and   
explained, "It's right between my... things."  
"Things?" Rally repeated, puzzled.  
"You know," Ranko repeating, glancing down and   
blushing. "My... things."  
"Your breasts?" Rally asked, staring down to where Ranko   
kept glancing.  
Ranko nodded, still blushing.  
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, all girls have them,   
you know. You're going to have them for the rest of your life, so   
you better get used to them." Rally chuckled, wondering what sort   
of prude had raised this girl.  
"I hope not," Ranko muttered, but the detective didn't seem   
to hear.  
Rally pulled back the sheets and loosened Ranko's hospital   
gown so she could reach down to that itchy spot, all the time the   
redhead's cheeks matched the color of her hair.  
"Ranko!" a light-hearted voice suddenly shouted from   
behind Rally. "We've come to cheer you up and help you get   
well!"  
Startled, Rally tried to spin around, only to loose her   
balance because of the awkward way she had been standing, the   
force of which tugged Ranko's hospital gown right off her chest.   
Rally instinctively grabbed onto the first thing she could to keep   
from falling, which happened to be Ranko's left breast.  
Mihoshi frowned in confusion. Ami could only stare, her   
jaw hanging open. Rei blinked, and blinked again. Belldandy   
quickly covered her sister's eyes, though was secretly pleased that   
Ranko didn't seem interested in Keiichi after all. Everyone was   
frozen in place as the moments passed.  
"Are we interrupting something?" Mihoshi asked suddenly,   
which seemed to snap everyone out of their shock. "Maybe we   
should come back later."  
Rally let go of Ranko's breast as if it were on fire and   
quickly covered her back up again with the hospital gown, and   
oddly found herself wondering what Minnie May would have   
thought about walking in on this. Ranko had a full body blush as   
she tried to explain, but couldn't do more than stutter.  
"Well, I've got to be going. Hope you get better soon,   
Ranko," Rally said all in a rush and then practically ran out the   
door. Everyone turned to watch her go, then turned back to Ranko.  
Ami still hadn't quite gotten over her shock. It was like the   
time she had walked in on Michuru and Hakura while they were...   
getting closer, but at least she had already known about their   
preferences. She had no idea Ranko or Rally were interested in   
other women, and to do that in a hospital of all places. Their lunch   
date must have been much more than a simple information   
exchange that Ranko had passed it off as.  
For Rei, this only confirmed theories she had had about   
Ranko for some time now. The redhead always dressed like a guy,   
hardly ever wore a bra, and had even less feminine modesty than   
Rei herself. She even got embarrassed when they suited up   
together, looking away as if she felt like a pervert for looking at   
another female body. There was also her tendency to put guys who   
came onto her too strongly in the hospital. She had thought Ranko   
to be a lesbian for a while now, but wasn't sure if the girl was even   
aware of it. Now at least she knew.  
"Oh, what lovely flowers," Belldandy enthused as she   
walked in the room with a smile. "Did you friend give them to   
you?"  
"You mean you guys didn't send them?" Ranko asked in   
surprise as she stared the other Knight Sabers, who all shook their   
heads.  
"I did!" shouted another voice from the door. Everyone   
turned to see Alielle standing there with a huge smile on her face.   
"I'm here again, my darling!"  
The purple-haired ADP officer raced over and latched   
herself onto Ranko before the redhead could get over the shock of   
being called 'darling'. Ami smirked, finding it much better to not   
be the one would was the target of her affections. "Just what did   
happen last night, Ranko?"  
As Ranko struggled vainly to loosen Alielle's grip, the other   
girl tilted her head and blinked. "Ami-san? Why are you visiting   
my darling?"  
Ami had to try very hard not to laugh, almost not   
succeeding. "Oh, Ranko is a friend of mine," she explained   
quickly, "I didn't know about you two though."  
Alielle blushed and gave Ranko another squeeze, which   
happened to tighten up her loosening grip. "Well, it all happened   
last night. There I was, a poor, helpless, innocent girl, targeted by   
a mad boomer for no reason whatsoever, when this beautiful girl   
appeared out of nowhere and saved me! It must be love!"  
"Help me," Ranko managed to choke out.  
Ami couldn't help but take pity on her fellow Knight Saber.   
"I understand you wanted to be close to the one you love, Alielle,   
but if you keep squeezing Ranko like that, she'll never get out of   
the hospital."  
Alielle quickly let go, muttering apologies. Ranko took a   
deep breath before smiling gratefully at Ami. A smile that was   
unfortunately not missed by her self-declared true love. "Ah ha, I   
see what's going on here now," Alielle declared, glancing from   
Ranko to Ami. "You're trying to take my new darling for yourself,   
aren't you? Well, I'm not giving her up without a fight!"  
Ami could only blink at the accusatory finger now pointed   
in her direction. She tried to speak, but was still too surprised to   
form coherent words.  
"I had no idea you were a lesbian as well, Ami," Rei,   
standing by her side, said to her.  
"I'm not!" Ami shouted, seeing everyone now staring at her.   
"Alielle is just jumping to conclusions!"  
The girl in question sniffed and told Ami, "I'm not going to   
be fooled by such a transparent lie. In respect to my darling's   
condition, I shall retreat for now, but when next we meet Ami   
Mizuno, we shall be bitter love rivals!"  
And with that, Alielle stomped out of the room, every   
staring as she passed in confusion, especially Ami. "What the heck   
just happened?"  
Mihoshi counted off the points on her hand. "First, we   
walked in on Ranko and another woman making out. She left,   
probably embarrassed by our intruding. Then Ranko's other lover,   
the one who sent the flowers, showed up and they started to make   
out, when Ami pointed out that this might be bad for Ranko's   
health. Then Ranko made a pass at Ami, and the other girl   
declared Ami her love rival before leaving."  
Mihoshi glanced around to see the twin glares of Ranko and   
Ami. "What? Did I get something wrong?" she asked in confusion.  
"I don't know where to start!" Ranko and Ami both shouted   
back at her.  



End file.
